Land use policy

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THERE is need to make the best possible use of scarce land in Bangladesh which is short of land or to optimise its uses under a comprehensive policy so that the need of land for various purposes can be met in one area without denying it elsewhere.
The supply of agricultural land is shrinking in the country. Urbanisation and non agricultural uses of land lead to the loss of some 80,000 hectares of agricultural land on average annually. This is a shocking figure in a land-short country which needs to keep all its present agricultural lands under agricultural production for addressing its basic need for food and economic security.
The unregulated growth of urban centres, absence of effective zoning of lands between agricultural, industrial, residential and commercial uses have been leading to such loss of agricultural lands as wells their misuse. All these issues need to be addressed under a comprehensive land use and urbanisation policy.
Nighat Sultana
Aminabad Colony
Siddehswari, Dhaka