BR moves to recover its lands from illegal occupation

FE Team | Published: January 07, 2012 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Jubair Hasan and Yasir Wardad
The Ministry of Railway has moved to enact a law to recover its land property worth billions of taka from illegal occupation, officials said.
According to the statistics available with the Bangladesh Railway (BR), a total of 4,635 acres of land went under illegal occupants out of its 61,606 acres of land across the country (1.0 acre = 100 decimals).
Of the illegally occupied land property of the Railway, government, semi-government and autonomous bodies have grabbed 1,255 acres of land and the rest by individuals and private organisations.
Total land of the railway has been divided into two zones - Eastern Zone and Western Zone. The data showed that illegal occupants captured 1,248.24 acres in the eastern zone and 3,387.27 acres in the western zone.
The newly formed railway ministry is moving towards the goal as it thinks the cheapest mode of public transportation will get some relief from continuous financial losses through properly using its lands.
The BR could not enjoy the taste of profit since independence of the country, prompting the government to increase subsidy for decades to bridge the big gap between its expenditure and income.
The government's subsidy on the key transportation increased by around 13 times over the last decade as the financial loss of the BR soared to around Tk 7.58 billion in the last fiscal year (2010-2011) as against that of Tk 0.56 billion in FY 2000-2001.
Seeking anonymity, a senior BR official said establishments like slum and shops have been erected in the lands by the highly influential persons in their localities.
Some 500 acres of BR land have been grabbed by illegal occupants in Chittagong alone, he mentioned.
The value of the grabbed lands is around Tk 300 billion, according to a source of BR engineering division (east).
The official also said the slum dwellers also consume utilities - electricity, water and gas - of the railway that affected the institution financially and turned it into a losing entity.
He said all previous efforts of the BR to reclaim the lands proved futile due to many reasons, including political intervention and legal complexities.
"The scenario is almost the same elsewhere in the country," he said, adding that the recovery of its land is enough to make the BR a profitable entry. "The newly formed ministry should look into the issue very carefully," he added.
BR Director (Estate) Shahidul Islam said the institution can earn a big amount of money by properly using the property. "The estate department of the railway needs to be strengthened further," he said.
Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta termed the railway as Zamindar of Bangladesh, saying they will not accept the illegal land grabbing anymore. "This is our land and we'll use this for its development," he told the FE.
The chief of the ministry said they are going to enact a law on the issue. "I asked BR officials concerned to take necessary preparation for the recovery of its land. The initiative will be visible soon," he added.
The BR authorities launched a drive against the illegal occupants during the regime of the immediate past caretaker government in 2007 when nearly 10 per cent lands were recovered throughout the country.
"We recovered nearly 400 acres of land across the country during the eviction drive, out of which 20 acres were in Dhaka," an official of the estate department in the Railway, Abdur Rashid, said.
He mentioned that highly influential persons have started recapturing the property with political support.
Mr Rashid said the BR can significantly reduce its dependence on government subsidy through properly utilising those after the recovery.
"The BR has large resources in current market price, which can turn it into a profitable entity," he added.