Land disputes eating into vitals of economy
Land dispute is an old conflict of Bangladesh society linked to the socio-economic-political system. Every year considerable number of people are directly or indirectly affected by land dispute. Specially the landless and poor fisherman communities living in different char and khaslands of the country are falling victim to this dispute and losing both financially and socially. At places eviction of the socially weak landless people has also occurred. Land dispute even led to killing of opponent, grievously hurting, looting of homestead and arson. Increase in land disputes has a very negative impact on society and economy.
A recent research conducted by Samata, an NGO working with land rights, shows occurrence of more than 750 incidents of land dispute during the past year, which include incidents of murder, too. 47 persons reported killed in land disputes during 2006 and a few thousand were injured. The research was conducted on the basis of published reports in six dailies including the Prothom Alo, Ittefaq and Janakantha. It is no exaggeration that the number of land disputes actually occurred are much more than that reported in the media.
The research revealed that among the so many social, political, economic reasons of land dispute the major one is illegal possession of khas land. The victims are mainly the landless poor. And most of the cases are occurring in khas and charlands. The state talks of unhindered right of the landless to the khaslands, but due to continuous indifference of government officials, non-cooperation of corrupt land officers and muscle flexing of illegal occupants under political grab, land disputes centring the khas lands are on the rise.
According to media reports, enormous amount of government and private lands has been illegally occupied also last year. Among that amount of lands belonging to Roads & Highways, Railways, Water Development Board, City Corporations are more than others -- about 51 per cent -- of which only a meagre portion could be recovered by the respective authorities (Ittefaq, 4 April 2006).
The poor are the most losers. They have to fight more to stick to their land ownership. They already have lesser access to land, and whatever they have gained, they cannot hold on firmly just because they are poor. The illegal land grabbers have both money and muscle and their main weapon is false litigation against the landless poor, who in course of time would just get tired of continuing the case spending so much money and thus forsake their right to land.
On the other hand, the land grabbers have little discrimination, they just don't miss any opportunity of grabbing any land any time. Such illegal occupation leads to dispute which lingers with the conflicting parties as long as they can sustain. And in the process we find lands of Adibasis and minority communities sliding into illegal occupation. This occupation is rather expedited through the loopholes of Vested Property Act and there being no separate land commission for the Adibasis. Some land grabbers are tactfully occupying temple and cremation ground land, Debottar land, Adibasi land of hills or plains.
Now corruption added to the whole affair of land has created a new dimension which, besides inciting land dispute in many cases is helping it to linger on. Three Directorates of two Ministries (Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Land) look over the whole land affair. But lack of coordination among them has led to unabated spread of corruption. Unbounded corruption prevails in matters of survey, mutation, record, certificate etc. at different land offices. This extension of corruption in land survey has in fact expedited increase in land dispute. It is off and on alleged by many that surveyors and record keepers appointed on temporary basis do not record land properly without bribe and when bribed just even record some other's land in the giver's name! As a result the anomaly thus created with ownership of land rolls into dispute to litigation. The surveyors also create anomaly in deciding borders of lands, which again expedites conflicts. During 2006, 37.2 percent of the land disputes occurred from complexity of ownership and problem of deciding border (Jugantar, 15 March 2006).
Various class of people are trying in various ways to gain land ownership or title. The influential happen to be considerably successful exploiting their influence while the vast multitude of the landless are just getting deprived. In matters of access to land, the poor have little opportunity. But right to land of the landless is legally recognised. Yet they don't have any mentionable access there because of the influential and land grabbers. Khas land, be it in a char area or anywhere else, it is very hard for the landless or the poor to take possession of that.
Land dispute is harming the people both socially and economically. The society must see an end to it. It's a necessity to end these conflicts and help the landless and the poor realise their legally and constitutionally recognised right to khas resources. With a view to ending these disputes we may embark on providing the government research-reached information for adopting pro-poor policies, publicity programme for awareness about the negative side of land dispute, as well as taking some practical steps, etc. Through these we can also help the poor and the landless establish their right.
But only this much will not do. To establish their right and save them from potential loss government, NGOs, research organisations, civil society, development organisation and activists all together should put their united effort. Besides, implementation of political commitment, easy and transparent bureaucratic process and accountability in land administration and management should also be ensured. Cohesion of the bygone days must be back in society.
The following steps may be taken to face and end the existing conflict involving land:
* Coordination between the two ministries (ministry of law, justice & parliamentary affairs and ministry of land) responsible for reducing system complexity and human harassment in matters of land, and putting the matter of land administration under a central authority.
* Regular Diara survey. This will ensure actual amount of river area land and its ownership.
* Bribe and corruption free transparent and correct survey, so that people can come out of the vicious circle of bribery and forged deed to a proper system.
* Local people's participatory survey system with field court during survey period so that the land problems, if any raised, can be solved then and there.
* Appointing land recorders and surveyors on permanent basis, instead of contract basis, to ensure accountability.
* Modernisation of land record and survey system with imparting necessary training to the officers.
* Strict steps to contain corruption of officers and staff of different level including union land office.
* Distributing Khas land among the poor landless people as per government rules and ensuring their ownership threat.
Constituting district court to settle land dispute cases at district level is a demand of time now. This will reduce the red tapism as well as the conflicts arising out of lingering rivalry. It is very much necessary to make the CHT land commission effective to check forced occupation of Adibasi land and constitute separate land commission to protect the right of plain land Adibasis. It is also necessary to take strict steps for trial and punishment of all offences and crimes committed centering land dispute. The land-grabbers should be punished and list of Khas resources -- how much and where -- should be published and that taken control of by the government evicting the illegal possessors, and distributed district wise among those really deserving. It is high time the Alluviun Diluvian Act is amended and illegal occupants of water bodies removed towards reducing the occurrence of land dispute.
Social cohesion and unity can play an important part in resolving the problem of land dispute significantly. So, all in the society should act together to strengthen social unity.
Last but not the least, by the blessing of IT and communication system, we already see so much change for better in society. Yet we couldn't reduce the occurrence of land dispute which is harming most the helpless people. This scourge of sort is depriving them of the very sustenance for life. This problem must be done away with if the society ever thinks of the legal, constitutional right of the landless poor.
Md Abdul Kader is Executive Director of Samata.
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