Govt plans ‘one person, one khatian, one map’ system: Land minister

The government has planned to introduce ‘one person, one khatian (record of rights), one map’ system in land management, Land Minister Narayon Chandra Chanda said today (12 June).

He said the issue of making registered allotment deeds mandatory for inheritance lands is being reviewed and these initiatives have been taken to reduce land-related cases and disputes.

The land minister made the remarks while speaking at a discussion titled ‘Smart Bangladesh: Smart Land Service and Land Management Perspective’ organised on the occasion of Land Service Week 2024 at Gymnasium Hall in Chattogram this morning.

Chattogram Divisional Commissioner’s Office and Chattogram District Administration jointly organised the event, a land ministry press release said.

Speaking as the chief guest, Narayon Chandra said development activities will not be sustainable if land management is not fair.

“Land is intertwined with human existence and land is associated with every development work. Smart land service is an important part of the Smart Bangladesh plan,” he said.

Addressing the land officials, the minister said services have to be provided by treating the land service recipients well.

He further said the class of agricultural land cannot be changed as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given clear instructions in this regard.

At the same time, he said, the issue of river protection must be considered with importance.

Replying to a question, Narayon Chandra said the draft rules of the Land Crime Prevention and Redress Act are in the Law Ministry.

After completing the necessary vetting process, the rules of the Land Crime Prevention and Redress Act will be issued right away it is sent from the Ministry of Law to the Ministry of Land, he said.

Replying to another question, the minister said the land development tax system will be updated by next September, and necessary steps are being taken in this regard.

Chaired by Chattogram District Administrator Abul Bashar Mohammad Fakhru Zzaman, the meeting was attended, among others, by Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Md Tofayel Islam, Additional Secretary of the Land Ministry Md Emdadul Haque Chowdhury, Additional Divisional Commissioner of Chattogram Yasmin Parveen Tibriji, Additional Police Commissioner of Chattogram ASM Mahtab Uddin and Additional DIG of Chattogram Range Probir Kumar Roy.

After his speech, the land minister distributed prizes among the school students who won the quiz competition organised on the occasion of Land Service Week.

He then handed over compensation cheques to those affected by land acquisition and copies of Record of Rights (Khatiyan) to the applicants.

On the occasion of Land Service Week, a total of 10 land service stalls have been set up on the Gymnasium premises. These include stalls of the Upazila/Circle Land Offices, as well as stalls related to land acquisition by the district administration, the record room, survey and settlement department of the Survey Department, and land registration department of the Registration Department. After the end of the programme, the minister visited the land service stalls.

Earlier, he awarded the best team among the land service stalls.

Among others, heroic freedom fighters, land service recipients, land officials of different levels of Chattogram, civil society representatives, politicians, media representatives and people of different professions were present on the occasion.

The Land Service Week 2024, which began on 8 June, will end on 14 June.