Prospects and chaleenges of land development policy in Bangladesh
(MD. IBRAHIM KHOLILULLAH, DEPT OF AG.FINANCE, BAU
MOB: 01718996557)

Introduction
Land is the father of wealth and labour is her mother. Land as wealth is scarce, finite, productive and decisive in determining individual’s economic status, social standing and political strength and in determining key to economic development as social justice. All these are more so true in an agrarian economy like Bangladesh. The importance of land and the concern for its uses associated with the ownership are built into people’s needs and aspirations Besides land there are also inland flood plains, streams, lakes, ponds, beel, haor-baor and other areas from very large to small that are partially or fully covered with water either seasonally or permanently in greater or lesser degree. Important characteristic of land is its immobility. A parcel of land remains where it is; it is the basis for establishing ownership. The great importance of land in determining human person’s economic and cultural progress is attributable largely to the diversification, relative scarcity, and localization of its resources. Arable farm land and the most useful minerals, especially, are not distributed evenly over the earth’s surface but are highly localized.
A policy is a specific plan or settled course adopted and followed by a government, a group, an institution, or an individual to achieve desired ends. Land policies may be considered as major lines of public action aimed to improve the use of land resources and the conditions of property rights under which people work and live on the land. The major problems, with which land policy is concerned, therefore, occur in the fields of (i) land ownership, (ii) land use, conservation, and development; and (iii) issues related with waterbodies.

THE EVOLUTION OF POLICY AND THE WIDER POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT
The way in which land is currently administered remains firmly rooted in practices established during the colonial era. The British, from the outset, gave high priority tothe organisation of a centrally controlled management system that was designed to maintain political control and secure a steady source of state finance. NGOs concerned with the land issue have tended, in recent years, to focus their attention on the different means by which these rights may, in practice, be secured Fig lays out the historical antecedents of land policy and explores, in outline, the major developments taking place in the post-colonial era, provides more detail in the form of a time-line.
Key developments in land policy and administration era | Key developments | Khas lands | Fiscal poliy | surveys | Civil society | Land ceiling | administration | Pre-colonial | Indian Hindu rulers introducefirst land revenue systems C16 Sher Shahre formsintroduce system of land measurement revenue assessment & collection | | | | | | | Colonial1757-1947 | 1793 Permanent Settlement Act establishes Zamindari | 1825 Bengal regulation 111868 Bengal Alluvion Act 1919 Government Estates Manual 1932 Bengal Crown Estates Manual | | | | | | Pakistan1947-71 | 1950 East Bengal State Acquisition & Tenancy ActAbolishes Zamindari: landshould pass to tiller share cropperright | | | | | | |
Land policy and administration timeline
INDIA PERIOD | Land revenue systems introduced by Hindu rulers of ancient India. | C16 | Sher Shah reforms introduce a regular system of land measurement together with the assessment and collection of revenue. | C17-18 | British establish an elaborate system of land surveys and registration based on the concept of net assets. This is designed to encourage the | 1793 | The Permanent Settlement Act vests rights to land (and water bodies) in a class of zamindars. Whilst intended to usher in the re-organisation of agriculture along capitalist lines, this has the actual affect of creating] multiple-layers of sub-tenants. | 1882 | Transfer of Property Act, the fore-runner relevant to present registration procedures, is passed | 1888-1940 | A Cadastral Survey (CS) of undivided Bengal creates the original record of land rights. This is often still accepted as evidence by modern courts. | 1908 | The Registration Act establishes land registers kept by the subregistrar,an official under the Ministry of Law. These assess and collect “ad valorem” based registration fees, stamp duty and transferax, and provide deeds relating to the transfer of land | 1927 | 90,000 cadastral maps covering the whole of contemporary Bangladesh are published. These are still considered the most reliable Cartographic record by modern courts. | 1946 | The Tebhaga share-croppers movement campaigns for reforms in ratios and procedures governing division of produce. But nobody now really represents their interests or carries the movement forwards. Slogans for re-distributional land reform are part of the anti-colonial struggle. |

PAKISTAN PERIOD 1947 | Pakistan continues with a version of the net asset system but this declines in importance with reduced frequency of settlements and poor maintenance of land records. | 1950 | Abolition of Zamindari system. Control of land passes to the Revenue Department, which subsequently becomes the Ministry of Land (MOL). | 1951 | East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act (EBSATA) 1951 promotes the goal of retaining the agricultural character of land by giving cultivators first right of purchase and prohibiting other use; but the large number of exceptions and poor enforcement dilute impact. A land ceiling of 33.3 acres is imposed. | 1950-early70s | A leftist movement targets landless poor and marginal farmers, but whilst land reform continues to excite the popular imagination, little is done by way of implementation | 1956-62 | A State Acquisition Survey is conducted based on the CS blueprint | 1961 | Land ceiling raised to 125 acres | 1965 | Survey and revisional settlement operation commences, but progress is very slow and by 1995 it has only been completed in 10% of all thanas | 1972 | A land ceiling of 33.3 acres is re-established and various presidential orders provide for the distribution of khas land amongst the landless.Expected that 2.5 million acres of excess land will be released, but in reality there is far less. Newly formed land vested in government, becoming a second type of khas. Exemption from land tax granted for families owning < 8.33 acres. | 1973-1983 | A variety of land related charges are consolidated into the Land Development Tax (LDT), which covers the whole country except CHT, but deficiencies in the record system mean individual holdings cannotbe checked, and switches to more heavily taxed non-agricultural uses frequently go unrecorded. | 1984 | The Land Reform Ordinance limits future land acquisitions to 21 acres whilst retaining present ceilings. Benami (ceiling avoiding) transfers to relations are outlawed, but again evasion is easy. Legal recognition to the rights of share-croppers is given for the firsttime and share-cropping is established as the only admissible form of tenancy contract | Late 1980s | Only 0.2% of value added in agriculture collected as LDT revenue, of which collection cost is two thirds. | Late 1980s | Muyeed Committee recommends that functions of Land Registration (sub-registrar) and record (tehsil) be brought together in a single office at field level but this is ignored. | 1988 | Cluster village programme resettles landless people on state land, but only 800, with some 32,000 households, have been formed by 199 | 1989 | Board of Land Administration split into Land Appeals Board and Land Reforms Board to deal with the ever increasing volume of quasi-judicialappeals. | 1991 | A survey shows 90% of the rural population are unaware of the 1984 reforms. | 1991 | A land administration manual lays down detailed instructions regardinginspection and supervision of Union and Thana land offices. | 1992 | Farms of up to 8.33 acres are exempted from LDT. 8.33 – 10 acres are charged at BDT 0.5 per acre, and larger holdings at BDT 2 per acre. | 1997 | New Agricultural Khas Land Management and Settlement Policy introduced. | 1998 | Total khas land is found to be 0.75 million acres (or 3% of arable land area). But the actual amount remains unclear as a result of de facto private control arising from informal local settlements. | 2015-20 | Estimated date for completion of survey of land rights. | CHALLENGES TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
Five broad pathways of agricultural land use change have evolved in developing countries in this century, reflecting different land resource endowments and settlement patterns:

* Expansion and intensification of irrigated agriculture * Intensification of high-quality rain-fed lands * Intensification of densely populated marginal lands * Expansion of farming into sparsely populated marginal lands * The rise of urban and periurban farming with accelerated urbanization

Improved water management
Two-thirds of the rainfall is either consumed by plants or returned to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration (green water).. About 60 percent of the world’s staple food production relies on rain-fed irrigation, hence on green water.

Knowledge dissemination and land policy constraints
Low levels of land productivity and subsequent land and resource degradation can often be traced to inadequate access to the best or most appropriate knowledge required to overcome local constraints.
Protecting the land resource: agricultural intensification and integrated farming systems
Production practices that emphasize integrated land, plant nutrient, and water management are essential to SLM. The maintenance of native biodiversity can also be an important contributing factor. Biological diversity is required in a structural as well as a functional sense

Soil fertility management
An important component of slm is the management of soil and plant nutrients. Soil fertility can be improved by managing nutrient stocks and flows (where inputs exceed or balance outputs). A range of intervention strategie are available to farmers (Scoones and Toulmin 1999):

PRIORITIES OF LAND USE POLICY
Mapping of Demarcated Zone

Policy: Map should be prepared for the demarcated zone.

Framework: * Revenue section of Deputy Commissioner's office may provide support for preparation of map to Local Government authority. * Zoning system should be undertaken based on land use. NGO’s should be involved in facilitating the preparation of zoning maps. * Union should be the unit of land-use policy. Union Parishad may be involved in resource mapping

Action: * After preparation and approval, no zoning maps will be allowed to change without specific purposes. * There shall be Zoning Law. * Zoning map prepared by local Government Institutions will be mandatory to follow.
Inclusion of NGO and Civil Society

Framework: * P-NGO and Civil Society should be included in the land management committee * Peoples’ representatives and NGO’s should be included in the district and Upazila
Land and Women
Policy:
* Women’s right to landed property is limited legally. As a matter of fact, women hardl have right on landed property. This constitute on of the major women’empowerment. Inheritance law, patriarchal values and social practice – all these are instrumental in denying women’s right to landed property. In our country, women’s inheritance law is based on religion-based personal law – in case of Muslims, it is Sharia law and in case of Hindus, it is Daibhag. In Sharia law, women’s right is particularly recognized and as per Daibhag, inheritance is not recognized.
Action:
The existing inheritance law should be amended and implemented on the basis of recognizing equal rights for woman irrespective of cast, creed and religion.

Indigenous People
Policy:
* Land right issues of the indigenous communities should be enshrined in Land use Policy. * The issues of land ownership and land-rights of indigenous communities should be brought under consideration.
Framework:
Separate Land Commission should be formed for Adibasis of the plains. And
Adibasi of Hill.
Action:
* Hill Tracts Land Commission should be made effective. * Poor, landless and previous owners should be given priority in respect of lease of land. * Uprooting of indigenous peoples from their land should be stopped forthwith.
Khas Land
Policy:
* Land use policy shall be designed in such a way which will permit speedy and updated identification of all khas land by Zones and mouzas.Most part related to khas land is drawn from Abul Barkat, S Zaman, and S Raihan (2001), Political Economy of Khas Land in Bangladesh, published by ALRD, ISBN # 984-31-1482-5.

Framework: * Cooperation and support of respective government ministries to different development organizations’ programmes in recovery and distribution of khas land should be further accelerated based on mutual respect and mutual trust. * The committee for the identification of khas land should be reorganized. The representatives of peasants’ organization, khet-mojur (agricultural labour), political parties, NGOs, social organization, school teachers should be included in the committees at all levels. * Khas Land Management Committee at the national level, and a Khas land Management and Distribution Committee at the district level with strong presence of peasants and landless representatives are needed.

Action: * Policy should permit immediate distribution of khas land among the genuine landless. * 1994 Amendment to Alluvion and Diluvion Act should be cancelled.

Agricultural Land
Policy:
* Arable land should not be used for other purposes. * Separate procedures should be formulated for use of cultivable land for nonagricultural purposes. Action: * Arrangements should be made to prohibit the use of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes. * If cultivable land is not properly used, recourse against the violator should be mentioned in the policy. Industry
Policy:
* Zone should be specified for setting up industries. Care should be taken for easy availability of utility services. * Only specific industries should be set up in selected areas.
Framework:
Local institutions will ensure 500 yards of land for future industrialisation on both the sides of main roads.
Action:
* Disposal of industrial wastes should be monitored and disposed off very carefully to avoid environment pollution. * Small and cottage industries within the radius of 10 kilometre should be discouraged, if plot is available in BSCIC areas.
Forest Related
Policy:
* Initiative to be taken to conserve, maintain, and extend existing forest.
Action:
* Green belt of forest to be created in the coastal areas. * Social forestry should be encouraged.
Rural Housing
Policy:
* As there is no housing policy for rural area as such. Building model housing in the rural areas should be encouraged.
Action:
* Construction of multistoried buildings in both in urban and rural areas should be encouraged. * House Building rules should be provided for planned housing in the villages. * Provision of bank loan should be arranged at easy terms for construction of multistoried housing in the rural areas.
Charland
The amount of charland is approximately 1723 square k.m. which constitute 1.2% of the country’s total land. Charland is primarily khasland. Only 7% of charland are in possession of 77% of the population and 23% of population who are primarily land grabbers, are in possession of 93% of charland.
Policy:
* Land policy towards chars should give high priority that all accreted new chars are undertaken by the government and protected from illegal occupation of land grabbers.
Framework:
* A charland management committee should be set up both at the central and the local level. Participation of the representatives of peasants and their organization should be ensured at both level committees. The committee should be responsible for maintaining records of lost lands by households and newly accreted lands. It should also be responsible for maintaining records of migration of families. The committee should be equipped with the satellite images in identifying the newly emerged char.
Action:
* River eroded households should be rehabilitated on the newly accreted chars and settled to their original homesteads after reformation of eroded lands.

REGULATORY LAND GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
Land inequality remains a problem in Bangladesh and is exacerbated by elite land grabs and the government’s own incapacity to execute legislation on land ownership ceilings. Since 19501, numerous government policy and legislative efforts have sought to address the extreme inequality in land holdings but with very limited impact due to followed inefficient laws implementing process. Despite government’s intentions however, the land ceiling in the 1950 Act and 1984 Ordinance have not been widely implemented (USAID, 2010).
A separate legal regime that blends customary and formal law exists in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region- the principal home of the country’s indigenous people The central government operates through its district and sub-district offices; but traditional jurisdiction over natural resource management and land and revenue administration lies with traditional village heads or chiefs (karbaris), the headmen responsible for several villages (mauza) and paramount chiefs or chiefs of revenue circles (rajas). Official government institutions maintain but rarely exercise concurrent jurisdiction (Roy 2004).

National land use policy -2001 | (1) Stopping the high conversion rate of agricultural land to non-agricultural purposes; (2) Utilizing agro-ecological zones to determine maximum land-use efficiency; (3) Adopting measures to discourage the conversion of agricultural land for urban or development purposes; (4) Improving the environmental sustainability of land-use practices. | The 1972 Constitution (lastly amended in 2011) | Provides that all citizens shall have the right to hold, acquire, transfer and dispose of property. | The 1950 State Acquisition and Tenancy Act | a. Established a 33-acre land ceiling on private landowners, with the excess transferred to the government upon payment of compensation. government was charged with transferring the surplus land to the landless. b. Agricultural land use for other purpose is prohibited. If needed, permission should be sought at the revenue officer for classification change. c. Indigenous community, other than CHT, need permission of revenue officer to hand over their land to other communities d. Revenue officer will update land records according to the hand over deed or land transfer deed. Inheritance of land ownership will follow personal law. | | The 1984 Land Reforms Ordinance | a. Placed a 20-acre ceiling on acquisition or holding of agricultural land and invalidated benami transactions, in which a person purchases land in the name of another so as to evade the land ceiling. b. Provided greater tenure security to sharecroppers (bargadars) in sharecropping contracts with landowners c.Agricultural households already occupying farmlands obtained rights to their homestead land through an anti-eviction provision | |

THE PROSPECTS /PROBLEMS OF LAND POLICY REGARDING LAND WITH REASON SL. | Issues | Problems/Prospect | Reasons | 1. | The cultivable land is being decreased day by day. Food deficit is more than 2, 00,000 metric ton a year | Problem | Over population creates pressure on land for agricultural product.Industrialization requires agricultural landFragmentation of holdings | 2. | A total of 20,383 hector land is used a year for new home stead due to increase of population. | Problem | Unplanned housing and its horizontal expansionconstruction of buildings and roads over agricultural landsAgricultural land has been grasped by real estate owners, | 3 | There is a scope of increasing cultivable unused land. Use of char land also can bring good result. | Prospect | Rehabilitation can be done for landless peopleSettlement of char land reduce poverty Increase of agricultural land can help to boast agricultural production | 4. | Govt. Khas land is now under the control of powerful quarter. There are loopholes in the existing laws to recover this land. For this short coming govt. fails to take necessary support from the courts. | Problem | Corruption happened in land management such as survey, settlement and preparation of RORFit for settlement lands are not properly distributed to the landless people.Policy regarding settlement of land not properly exercisedWomen empowerment | 5. | The number of landless family in the country is about 10 million. It indicates the weakness of country’s land distribution system | Problem | Improper settlement policyLand ceiling not determined for the urban people.Agricultural khas land not distributed to the cultivators rather to the touts/mastan. | 6 | Agriculture land is being used unabatedly | Problem | Lower production due to improper use of landDecrease fertility for imbalanced use of fertilizerMonoculture of crops reduce land fertility | 7 | The amount of additional food production a year is only 3.68 metric ton. But it will be negative in relation to population growth soon. | Problem | Pressure on agricultural Land due to homestead useNegative correlation between population growth and productionFood import dependency increased | 8 | Environment policy, 1992 and National Forest Policy are not used properly. For this reasons environmental balance is disrupted. | Problem | Natural disasterEcological imbalanceTurn off biodiversity | 9. | BCSIC industrial city did not bring expected result. But land were acquired unplanned way for that purpose. | Problem | Unused acquired landIllegal occupancy (growth of slum)Decrease cultivable land results lower production | 10 | There was no fish scarcity if water bodies would be used properly. | Prospect | End use of water bodiesIncrease fish production by modern cultureMarshland land policy for fishing | 11 | There is sprouting private housing company in all big cities including Dhaka. | Problem | Unplanned development occupying agricultural landLand grabbing by the big gunsIllegal occupancy of urban plots | 12 | There is huge scope to reduce food deficit to a great extent by converting one crop land to two crop land two crop land to three crop lands by using scientific method | Prospect | Increase Production due to increase cropping intensityMultiple use of landIncrease the income of farmers. | 13 | There is lack of initiative to formulate and implement land laws and policies. Its consequences will be apparent very soon | Problem | Land litigationOutdated laws & policiesLack of integrated laws regarding land management | 14 | Disposing industrial waste into the river is creating hazarded environment | Problem | Lack of safe waterDestruction of bio-diversitiesNavigation problem/river siltation | 15 | Computerized database for land records system can reduce the sufferings of the people. One umbrella administration should beintroduced | Prospect | Easy ownership developmentOptimum use of landReduce land litigation |

RECOMMENDATIONS Sl No | Recommendations | 1 | Local government institutions should be strengthened to implement land zoning. | 2 | Exchange cases must be settled with in a very short period. | 3 | Land ceiling of rural areas must be minimized and policy required for ceiling determination of the urban areas considering land limitation | 4 | Review of Both Land Limitation Order and Land Reform Ordinance 1984 required | 5 | Khas, Char, Haor, and Mursh land kept reserve for future distribution among the poor to ensure their maximum utilization | 6 | Land ceiling for homestead of both urban and rural areas must be determined as minimum as possible | 7 | Town Improvement Act, 1953 for plan city should be implemented as far and as soon as possible. On the other hand a new act for the village improvement is required | 8 | Growth centre based development activities to the rural areas should be included to the land use policy for maximum utilization of land | 9 | Growth centre based development activities to the rural areas should be included to the land use policy for maximum utilization of land | 10 | Strategy of women empowerment and child rights required to include to the land use policy | 11 | Provision of data base included to land use policy for proper planning and development of land management issue | 12 | Issue regarding alluvium and diluvium of land should be included in land use policy | 13 | Agriculture sector should be given priority for land settlement | 14 | Fertile land should not be settled for development activities | 15 | Policy regarding awareness building should be included to land use policy to ensure optimum use of land |

CONCLUSION
Prospects and challenges of Land-use policy is a complicated issue, requiring views and opinions of different types of people related to land. Before finalizing the draft land-use policy, government may arrange opendialogues with Go’s, NGOs, landless people, indigenous and ethnic groups and women,who are the worst sufferers due to deprivation of their land rights. In this direction, seminars and symposia may also be organized with members of the civil society, media people,lawyers and other stakeholders of the society.

REFERENCES
Barkat.A., Roy.P.K,.and MS Khan (2007). Charland in Bangladesh: Political Economy of Ignored Resource, Dhaka: Pathak Samabesh.Bangladesh.
Barkat.A.,Ara.R., Taheruddin. M.,Hoque.S.and islamn(2007). Towards a feasible Land use policy of bangladesh. Human Development Research Centre (HDRC).
Swapan Adnan, 2008.”Peasant Question and Khas Land Movement in Bangladesh” (in Bengali), Natun Diganta, 6(4), Samaj Rupantar Adyan Kendra, Dhaka.
Roy, Raja Devasish. 2004. Challenges for juridical pluralism and customary laws of indigenous peoples: The case of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law, 21:113– 82.
Sustainable landmanagementchallenges, opportunities, and trade-offs(2006).A journal of world bank, 1818 H Street NW,Washington, DC 20433. Barkat.A., Zaman.S .andraihan.S (2000).Distribution and Retention of Khas Land in Bangladesh .A journal of Human Development Research Centre (HDRC) ,Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Land policy and administration in bangladesh: a literature review. Care rural livelihoods programme (2003).a journal for care sdu reports and studies.