Land Use and Protection
Grassroots consultation on draft law stressed
Legal experts and civil society members yesterday demanded grassroots-level consultation before finalising the draft law on land use aimed mainly at protecting the country's farmland.
The ever-decreasing cultivable land, which now stands at 60 lakh hectares from 90 lakh hectares in 1980, poses threats to the country's food security amid rising population and climate change impacts.
Unplanned industrialisation and housing is also causing serious problems. Together, the concerns prompted the land ministry to draft a law on farmland protection and land use.
At a workshop, the civil society members appreciated the move but raised a number of confusions, which they said, need clarification. The programme was organised by Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) in the city's Cirdap auditorium.
“The draft law speaks against changes to the natural features of land, but developers have already filled up a lot of rivers, canals, and low-lying areas. The law says nothing about such filled up low land”, said Syeda Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environment Lawyers' Association (Bela).
Barrister Sara Hossain suggested having a special arrangement allowing the victims of land grabbing to complain to the authorities. The issues of the landless, homeless, and slum dwellers also should be considered during its enactment, she said.
The speakers also criticised non-implementation of several other land-related laws because of interference by the politicians and influential people.
SM Rezaul Karim, former chief judicial magistrate, said that though decrease in farmland is a serious concern, there are vast areas of land under government acquisition remaining unused. The authorities concerned have to consider this issue while going for any acquisition, he said.
Hemayet Uddin, an NGO official from Patuakhali, said there are over a dozen of laws on land, but those have many contradictory provisions that create serious problems to those going to the court over land disputes. He suggested eliminating the contradictions in the laws.
Rights activist Sultana Kamal chaired the session while ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda, among others, spoke.
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