Planning the use of scarce land
Saturday, 2 August 2008
PLANNING to make the best possible use of land is becoming more and more important in the context of Bangladesh which has a relatively small land area compared to its huge population. The limited land available for its vast population means that land use must be regulated so that different sectors do make its optimum use. Freeplay in land ownership and utilization needs to be regulated with a sense of urgency so that land use in one sector does not lead to denial in another specially in agriculture. For example, many plots in the Tongi industrial area near Dhaka have reportedly been lying without any form of use for decades whereas many industries have cropped up outside this clearly demarcated zone for industrial areas in the nearby areas. This development would be nothing objectionable but for the fact that this industrial expansion outside the specifically provided area for setting up industrial enterprises, has lead to the gobbling up of land which could be used for agriculture.
Bangladesh's population has nearly doubled in the post-independence period. This population will increase further in the near future. Food production with new technologies could so far keep a balance of sorts with the rising population. But that balance could be under a severe strain if the main asset for agricultural productivity-land - becomes even more scarce. As it is, the country has been losing its land for other non agricultural purposes over the years. But the rate of this loss is now considered to be worryingly high. With this rate of shift in the use of land from agriculture to industries and services, very soon the total agricultural productivity of the country could be under a major threat from significantly diminished availability of land to grow food grains and other crops.
Thus, better management of the scarce and limited lands has become indispensable. The reasons for gross misuse of lands need to be promptly and seriously investigated. The same should be followed up with quick measures to ensure that potential industrial entrepreneurs who have been searching opportunities to set up their plants outside the specially-earmarked industrial estates, to cite here one area only, get encouraged to do the same within such estates. In many cases, there are no possibilities that plots inside the industrial zones or estates would ever be utilized by the ones for whom these were allotted. There may be various reasons for their deliberate or otherwise non-use of the plots. But such plots may have been lying unused in varying conditions for decades. Therefore, the government would be fully justified in canceling their allotments and giving them to ones who are more committed to establishing industries and services and are doing so outside the industrial areas. This mode of utilization of the industrial plots would help to considerably prevent indiscriminate industrialization without observing zoning rules and also the environment. The entrepreneurs would also be facilitated from getting plots at industrial zones where utility services can be accessed easier and also to benefit from other advantages of operation within a planned site.
It is high time also to introduce a comprehensive land use policy at the heart of which should be zoning for different uses of land. In the housing sector, for instance, only multi-storied buildings should be encouraged to conserve land space. The policy should be backed up by appropriate laws and their scrupulous and strict enforcement.
Bangladesh's population has nearly doubled in the post-independence period. This population will increase further in the near future. Food production with new technologies could so far keep a balance of sorts with the rising population. But that balance could be under a severe strain if the main asset for agricultural productivity-land - becomes even more scarce. As it is, the country has been losing its land for other non agricultural purposes over the years. But the rate of this loss is now considered to be worryingly high. With this rate of shift in the use of land from agriculture to industries and services, very soon the total agricultural productivity of the country could be under a major threat from significantly diminished availability of land to grow food grains and other crops.
Thus, better management of the scarce and limited lands has become indispensable. The reasons for gross misuse of lands need to be promptly and seriously investigated. The same should be followed up with quick measures to ensure that potential industrial entrepreneurs who have been searching opportunities to set up their plants outside the specially-earmarked industrial estates, to cite here one area only, get encouraged to do the same within such estates. In many cases, there are no possibilities that plots inside the industrial zones or estates would ever be utilized by the ones for whom these were allotted. There may be various reasons for their deliberate or otherwise non-use of the plots. But such plots may have been lying unused in varying conditions for decades. Therefore, the government would be fully justified in canceling their allotments and giving them to ones who are more committed to establishing industries and services and are doing so outside the industrial areas. This mode of utilization of the industrial plots would help to considerably prevent indiscriminate industrialization without observing zoning rules and also the environment. The entrepreneurs would also be facilitated from getting plots at industrial zones where utility services can be accessed easier and also to benefit from other advantages of operation within a planned site.
It is high time also to introduce a comprehensive land use policy at the heart of which should be zoning for different uses of land. In the housing sector, for instance, only multi-storied buildings should be encouraged to conserve land space. The policy should be backed up by appropriate laws and their scrupulous and strict enforcement.