'Irregularities in settlement process deprive landless people of Khas land'

Complex and prolonged administrative procedure and brokers in connivance with a section of dishonest land officials make a poor person pay Tk 5,000 to 20,000 to get the possession of Khas land although one is supposed to get it with a nominal fee of one taka, they said.

The settlement process, which lacks transparency, takes seven to eight years, said advocate Golam Akbar at the dialogue organised jointly by the Coastal Network and the South Asia Partnership at the National Press Club in the city.

"Many landless people get settlement in papers only but do not get the possession of lands as the officials in some cases sanction more than one settlement for the same piece of land," he said.

There are no land officers (AC land) in many upazilas and no land settlement committees, resulting in the postponement of land settlement, he added.

The poor people have to undergo various ordeals and obtain political favour and nepotism for a certificate of landless to get Khas land, he said on the basis of a findings gathered on the management of Khas land in coastal areas of Patuakhali, Noakhali and Barguna districts.

In may cases, Khas land is allocated among the local influential quarters, including landlords, political leaders and even local government representatives, Akbar said.

These grabbers occupy thousands of acres of Khas land where they run various businesses, factories and shrimp culture, he added.

He also suggested a certain time frame for land mutation, one single office for land-related issues at the upazila level and settlement of the land among the landless where they have already been living.

According to an official estimate, there are over 12 lakh acres of land, around half of which has already been leased out to the landless, said the chairman of Land Reform Board Murtaza Hossain Munshi.

There should be a separate cadre service for land to expedite resolution of land-related issues, he said.

"A strong political commitment is imperative to address the prevailing situation," said AKM Jahangir Hossain MP.

The government will accommodate, as far as possible, the recommendations made at the dialogue, said State Minister for Land Ukil Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan.

Union Parishad representatives, landless people and government officials attended the dialogue moderated by Prof Abul Barakat of Dhaka University.