Bangladesh Law Commission has prepared the draft unified land law aiming to modernize and consolidate the provisions of the conventional laws and enact an integrated land law.
Secretary of Law Commission Atwar Rahman (District and Sessions Judge) said that the commission has recently prepared the draft of the proposed ‘Land Act, 2022’ and recommendations in this regard.
Signed by the Chairman of the commission Justice A.B.M Khairul Haque and its member Justice ATM Fazle Kabir, the draft and report of the commission that includes the recommendations and statements about loopholes in the existing laws and regulations on land, have already been sent to the authorities concerned of the government.
In the proposed law, there are 17 sections and 307 articles. The government wants to enact the unified land law as per the recommendations of the Law Commission, sources said.
The Law Commission sources said that they have taken the initiative with the aim to bring uniformity in land management and land administration in the country.
Atwar Rahman said that after enactment of the unified land law it would facilitate and speed up the settlement of land disputes as well as improve overall land management.
According to the report of Law Commission, if the ‘The Land Act, 2022’ is enacted, a total of 22 acts as well as laws on land will be repealed.
The laws are (1) The Alluvion (Amendment) Act, 1868; (2) The Survey Act, 1875; (3) The Court of Wards Act, 1879; (4) Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885; (5) The Alluvial Land Act, 1920; (6) The Forest Act, 1927; (7) The Acquisition of Waste Land Act, 1950; (8) The Sairat Mahals (Management) Ordinance, 1959; (9) The Hats and Bazar (Establishment and Acquisition) Ordinance, 1959; (10) The Private Forest Ordinance, 1959; (11) The Govt. and Local Authority Land and Buildings (Recovery of Possession) Ordinance, 1970; (12) The Bangladesh Land Holding (Limitation) Order, 1972; (13) The Bangladesh Transfer of Immovable Property (Temporary Provisions) Order, 1972; (14) Bangladesh Abandoned Property (Control, Management and Disposal) Order, 1972; (15) The Bangladesh (Vesting of property and Assets) Order 1972; (16) The Bangladesh (Restoration of Evacuee Property) (Effect of Expiry) Act, 1975; (17) The Land Development Tax Ordinance, 1976; (18) The Vested and Non-Resident Property (Administration) (Repeal) Ordinance, 1976; (19) The Land Reforms Ordinance, 1984; (20) The Bhumi-Khatian (Parbattya Chattagram) Ordinance, 1984; (21) The Playground, Open Spaces, Gardens, and Water Bodies Conservation Act 2000; and (22) Orpito Sommothyi Potyarpon Ain, 2001.
Although the Law Commission says that ‘The Land Act, 2022’ has been drafted in a bid to ease the troubles faced by common people and bring about further discipline in land management, many legal experts are saying that it is not necessary to enact a unified law in this regard.
Talking to the Bangladesh Post on Monday (March 7), Advocate Kamruzzaman, a lawyer in Dhaka, said that if the law is enacted, it would curtail judicial power of the civil courts about the land question. The existing laws should be applied properly for smooth land management, he opined.
Meanwhile, the government has drafted another law titled ‘Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act’ to ensure ownership and rights of landowners properly and prevent all land-related crimes, including forgery, grabbing of Khas and private land, hill and soil cutting and illegal sand lifting. The draft law has identified about two dozen types of crime related to land.
