Land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury on Thursday said that the government was working to digitise land management system for reducing public sufferings and fulfilling the government’s smart Bangladesh target.

‘We want to make it clear that we do not have any personal agenda. We want to provide services to people,’ he said.

The minister was addressing as the chief guest a dialogue titled ‘Recent Initiatives on Land Management and Citizen Rights’ organised by Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh in association with the Association for Land Reform and Development.

In his keynote presentation Land secretary Md Mustafizur Rahman said that the government had to know who grabbed the land and who owned how much land, and for this map and khatian would serve the purpose.

He termed the British colonial Cadastral Survey nearly perfect among all surveys, and stressed the importance of digitising the land.

The prime minister will launch an app on March 29 which will help people to locate their land easily and find the land character, explained Mustafizur.  

The secretary said that they were looking forward to enacting a law so that the land-related disputes could be resolved at the soonest possible time through mobile courts.

‘Many land disputes are pending with the court for years,’ he pointed out.  

ALRD manager (programme) Rafiq Ahmed Serajee, however, said, ‘If the mobile courts resolve cases pending with the court, it might create legal issues between the judiciary and the administration.’

Land secretary Md Mustafizur Rahman explained that the mobile court would resolve only those cases that were not pending with the court.

Referring to the recent data, Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said, ‘There are 69 per cent people in our country that do not have digital access, and Bangladesh is the lowest in terms of internet speed among the south Asian countries.’

He urged the government to increase access to internet and to the use of technology for receiving benefits from digitisation.

Chairing the dialogue, Citizen’s Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh convener and CPD distinguished fellow Debapriya Bhattacharya said that the government initiative of land-related reforms would work as a step towards building a smart Bangladesh.

‘The government has to engage citizen groups to implement their initiatives,’ he added.

Manusher Jonno Foundation executive director Shaheen Anam and Aspire to Innovation programme’s Mohammad Samsozzaman, among others, spoke at the event.