On efficient land administration

Land is precious. It is more precious in a densely-populated country like Bangladesh. With a population of about 150 million living in an area of 147 thousand square kilometres, the density of population is 953 persons per square kilometre. The population is likely to increase to 235 million in 2051. Such a phenomenal increase will have adverse implications for the country's socio-economic development including high man-land ratio, reduced agricultural land, pressure on utilities, job market and declining quality of education and health services, especially for the poor.
The present per capita availability of land for agricultural production is about 0.170 acres. Besides agriculture, land is occupied by forest, fisheries, industries, roads, houses etc. Forest occupies about 16 per cent of the land surface. Railways, roads and waterways cover about 38,000 km. Rivers, canals, tanks, etc. eat up about 48,000 sq. km.
The per capita availability of land is diminishing and the loss of agricultural land is going on at the rate of about 1.0 per cent per annum.  River erosion is a major cause of loss of land. Erosion makes people both homeless and landless. Land is being degraded by soil salinity, soil contamination, deforestation, water pollution, falling water table and drainage congestion.
Land degradation in coastal areas is characterised by water logging (about 2.96 million acres) which leads to decline in productivity. Salinity due to shrimp culture and sea-level rise is affecting more than 3.0 million hectares of land. About 25,000 acres of mangrove forest have disappeared in coastal areas of the Cox's Bazar district. About 7.0 thousand acres of mangrove forest in Sitakunda of Chittagong district and Noakhali district have been grabbed by human sharks with the assistance of political power.  
Illegal encroachment on rivers, canals and water bodies for housing, industries, etc. is common both in rural and urban areas. This has led to the obstruction of flow of water, river erosion, reduction in flood plain areas and increased flooding.
The land ownership and management system has not yet been modernised to meet the current demands. At present, almost 80 per cent of court cases arise out of land disputes. There are fraudulent documents and conflicts about land ownership. The poor have very little access to government lands like char land, khas land, water bodies etc. The vested interest groups in both rural and urban areas are in possession of these with the help of money and muscle.
The Adivashis (the indigenous people) of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and other areas are losing their common property rights in their lands. They are becoming landless and poor. In the cities, slum-dwellers pay high rent for staying in the slums with poor facilities. They lose even this inadequate shelter due to frequent slum eviction.
The lack of co-ordination among different departments responsible for the preparation and maintenance of Record of Rights (ROR) causes sufferings to the people, especially small and marginal farmers. Three documents are required. These are (i) Mouza map, prepared by the Directorate of Land Records and Survey, (ii) Mutation by AC Land and (iii) Deed of registration by the sub-registry office.
Some progress was made in land use policy and management over the years. Model villages with community houses were built in 42 districts for housing about 30 thousand families. About 27 thousand acres of khas lands were allotted to more than 20 thousand families in the coastal areas of Chittagong, Noakhali, Laxmipur and Feni districts during the 2004-09 period.
Computerisation of land records has been done successfully in Demra Circle of Dhaka city on a pilot basis and data of land records have been stored electronically at four other circles (Mirpur, Dhanmondi, Kotwali and Tejgaon of the city) and in the district of Manikganj.
Land reform has always been a policy option for the planners and the politicians. But the classical land reform measures will not bring any fruitful results. The main goal of land use policy and management should be sustainable economic development by ensuring best possible use of land resources and delivery of land-related services to the people through modernised and efficient land administration.
There should be, in the first instance, co-ordination among three departments or offices: (i) AC Land, (ii) DLRs and (iii) the Directorate of Registration for preparation of record of rights. These three organs may be kept under the Land Ministry. Certificate of land ownership has to be introduced through a valid registration system. Land records are to be prepared in the shortest possible time using modern instruments based on ICT. Satellite images are to be used besides field survey, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Any change in the land use pattern is to be recorded in the data base on a regular basis. There should be a provision for participatory and joint monitoring by the government employees and the local people for overseeing the activities of land classification and land record modernisation. Suitable amendments to existing land laws, including Hill Tracts Regulations, should be made.
Planned use of land according to land zoning maps should be ensured. The provisions of the Town Improvement Act of 1953 have to be enforced for planned use of land in big cities. A new law, which may be named as Village Improvement Act, needs to be made to stop filling up of agricultural land. Specific areas are to be earmarked for housing, market places, industries and infrastructure. Land acquisition act and policy have to be rationalised. Afforestation process can be vigorously pursued in char and coastal land to achieve 25 per cent forest land coverage. The Jalmahal, the Balumahals and other Sairat Mahals should be managed in a way which will benefit the poor. The natural flow of rivers and canals has to be restored by removing the land-grabbers. The construction of Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) has to be strictly enforced. The non-agricultural Khas lands are to be utilised for housing of the urban poor and slum dwellers.
A well-thought-out and integrated plan is required for a modernised and efficient land administration involving land use and management.
The writer is an economist                  and columnist. chowdhuryjafar@ymail.com