Proper land use plan through reforms

Although there had been much rhetoric on rules and regulations for proper land use in Bangladesh in the past nothing has really materialised. There had been much talk about equal distribution of khas land, increasing land productivity, implementation of settlement act, acquisition of ceiling excess land, recovering absentee ownership land, modernisation of land administration, improving land management but in reality nothing has happened. Although some spot works have been done under government project here and there, that has no visible impact on development in national life. Rather some rules and regulations have caused further complicacies. But the issue of land reform is very important in the context of overall socio-economic reality in Bangladesh. It's an imperative now for Bangladesh from whatever angle -- social, economic, political - it is seen. Because to reduce the endless disparity and non-equity that dangerously exist among the people of Bangladesh there is little option to ignore the issue. A look into the income-expenditure and lifestyle of sections of society should reveal how deep and sharp this disparity exists to the detriment of the society itself. Specially this is further aggravating the very survival of the land and agriculture dependent masses. Land is undeniably the foundation of any country's economic development, and it is directly linked to gross domestic product (GDP). It is the basis upon which all economic activity takes place. Appropriate and effective administration of land issues has direct and significant impacts on how an economy grows and develops. It is not a coincidence that all the leading economies of the world have in place well functioning and reliable land administration systems. At the same time, many of the economically less developed countries have poorly functioning or non-functional systems of land administration. However, the government needs to formulate a coherent strategy for modernisation of the land records system. Given the complexity of land reform procedure, strong leadership should emerge to take the land reform agenda forward based on strategic vision and doable implementation plans. All the past land reform initiatives failed due to lack of coherent vision and proper planning from the authorities concerned. This time the government should mean it business as it is pledge-bound to make the system transparent through digitalisation. No doubt resources are too inadequate vis-à-vis population in Bangladesh. Besides, there exists a wide gap in matters of ownership of and right to the resources. The agricultural survey '96 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed that there was no land for cultivation for 10.18 per cent agriculture dependent thanas of rural Bangladesh. This share of people is the ultra poor and most deprived of facilities and are the real landless population. They even fall out of the jurisdiction of micro credit business so much in operation in rural areas. On the other hand, the major share of the income from land goes to the one fifth land owners in the country. That this disparity is increasing the poverty and widening the rich-poor gap in the country doesn't need further proof. Although land is the main ingredient (base) in case of crop production but it being inadequate in Bangladesh, there is little or just no scope of bringing more land under cultivation. It is also necessary to recover the huge amount of existing agricultural khas land, vested property, railway and WAPDA land, acquired land, abandoned water bodies, char land, forest land, court of wards land, swamps, including other govt. khas lands, and distribute that among the landless poor for optimum utilisation Such initiatives, if taken and implemented, will ensure economic and social security and mental peace of 30 million landless people of the country as well as add remarkably to the poverty alleviation efforts in this land of enormous potentials. Country's land registration system is also in total disarray. Open bribery is a now common feature in the registration process and any deviation from it is seen as a surprising phenomenon. Common people across the country are the worst sufferers. The government is, however, trying to eliminate corruption from all organisations responsible for property transfers, and set to modernise the land registration system. But the progress is painfully slow. A random survey across the country will reveal that a section of officials at land and sub-registrar offices allegedly indulge in corruption and anomalies. People are subjected to undue harassment when they go to get government services such as land registration, mutation, acquisition and leasing. Unscrupulous land officials first demand high amounts of speed money from the clients for providing services. On refusal, they misbehave with the service-seekers and make unwarranted delay in getting works done. Being caught in the melee, hapless people have to negotiate underhand dealings. People are forced to pay many times the actual price of stamp, cartridge paper and deed copies. Reports from different parts of the country say most of the officers posted at upazila and union levels indulge in such malpractice. Cases of land disputes are on the rise in recent days due to continuous indifference of government officials, non-cooperation of dishonest land officers and the like. Corrupt practice in land survey is cited as a key reason for a hike in land dispute. Many surveyors and record keepers do not record land properly without speed money, which also leads to innumerable disputes over landownership. Vast tracts of land also remain fallow due to ownership conflicts, depriving the country of substantial agricultural production. Harrowing tales of misdeeds in land administration often surface in connection with grabbing khas land that include ponds and other big water bodies. Village influential persons take possession of these lands and the land belonging to the poor people through forgeries and frauds and thus control the administration of rural communities. Efforts are thus required to be made for updating database, land acquisition procedure and papers, and taking punitive measures against wrong information on land. Collection of all fees by pay order, opening registration book, fee book, receipt book, tip book and adequate supply of government forms need to be ensured. There is also a need for increasing the number of sub-registry offices at upazila levels and reduce the cost of mutation by 50 per cent. All said and done, the government should take pragmatic steps to remove age-old anomalies in the country's land registration process and bring the procedures of mutation and registration of property under one umbrella, which will reduce the difficulties of initiating a new venture. It should introduce online record keeping for property and tax payment. If the government can ease the procedures to a considerable extent, it will help attract new investment from local and foreign entrepreneurs. It is thus essential that the government enacts a law to regulate the use of arable land. It is not unlikely that a powerful lobby may be active against enactment of such a law. Since the proposed law will encompass almost all strata of the society, the government may solicit opinion of the civil society members, legal experts and the media on the draft law. This will ensure people's participation in the process of decision-making. szkhan@dhaka.net