Banskhali lesson and land acquisition

A top official at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has said they have learnt a lesson from the Banskhali incident where attempt was made to 'evacuate only 50 families' to accommodate a coal-fired power plant.
Speaking as the chief guest at a conference on 'The Bay of Bengal Industrial Growth Belt Initiative' in Dhaka last Saturday the official said the government from now on would be cautious while acquiring land (for any development project).
"We will acquire lands in chars and khas areas in the future, keeping the Banskhali experience in mind. We have tried to evacuate only 50 families and now we see the results there", the official told the conference.
In fact Banskhali is not the first experience for the government. There were a few also in the past, in areas close to the capital Dhaka. Locals clashed with law enforcers and security agency people when the government wanted to acquire land for building a housing project and an international airport. In the face of strong resistance, the government had finally retreated.
Acquisition of land by the government has never been easy since land is considered the most precious possession in Bangladesh where the land-man ratio remains one of the lowest in the world.  The task of acquiring land by the authorities would prove to be far more troubling in the coming days.
Even it would be difficult to acquire areas in chars, newly accreted land. The law says any newly accreted land belongs to the government, meaning the land is khas. But in reality, chars are grabbed by locally influential people with the help of the officials at the government's land offices. Moreover, in most cases, char and khas lands would not be suitable for setting up the proposed economic zones, industries and infrastructure projects.
One of the major hurdles to investment in Bangladesh has been land scarcity. A good number of foreign investors have left the country failing to secure suitable land for their proposed establishments. The developments surrounding the Korean Export Processing Zone (KPEZ) have possibly discouraged many potential foreign investors from coming to Bangladesh. The KPEZ got land far less than what the government had promised initially. Even it has been facing serious problem in keeping under its possession the land the government has allocated to it.
The government, of late, has been trying to attract investment, both local and foreign, under its economic zones scheme. The authorities are assuring the prospective investors of all facilities, including easy availability of land.
But making available land to the proposed economic zones as promised by the relevant authorities might prove a daunting task. The problems with land have turned acute over time in the absence of proper land management and land use policies. In fact, this is an area that has failed to draw due attention of the policymakers.  
Since land is one of the most valuable resources, the presence of the vested interests in the land sector is very strong. This again has made the sector most graft-ridden. The dominance of powerful quarters having strong political links and the greed of the corrupt officials manning the land offices have made the situation very complex. Even with most sincere efforts, the government might find it really difficult to streamline things in the country's land offices.
The government has been trying to digitize the land management and land administration. But the move is being torpedoed from within since in the event of digitization, it would be hard for the unscrupulous land officials to milk the victims of scores of land dispute cases and other innocent service-seekers.
Had the government introduced a land use policy long ago, it would not have faced so much of problem as far as allocation of land for new industries or infrastructure projects is concerned.
The absence of such a policy has been largely responsible for the unabated erosion in agricultural land across the country. More and more farm land is being lost every year to accommodate the growing number of people and other infrastructural and industrial needs.
The government might find itself in a difficult situation if it decides now to formulate an appropriate land use policy and implement the same with all seriousness on its part. Its scarcity has made the problem with use and management of land far too complicated.
The government is found to be very serious about wooing investors, both local and foreign, to make big investments in an oraganised manner. But the availability of land at locations where the prospective investors are willing to put in their money might pose a serious problem.
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