Staff Reporter:
Adviser to the Local Government, Rural Development (LGRD), and Cooperatives and Land Affairs Min-istries A F Hasan Arif yesterday said that the government is working for the overall welfare of the people as per the student-people’s expectations.
“We have to work as a servant of the people, not as master to bring changes in the society,” he told this at a meeting of the deferent projects undertaken by the land ministry at Bangladesh Secretariat here yes-terday.
The advisor said the government will take necessary steps to transfer the activities of the Land Registra-tion Department from the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to the Ministry of Land Affairs to reduce the sufferings to the people.
Hasan Arif said since the land registration process is manual, the common people are being subjected to huge harassment to get e-mutation (namjari), land tax payment and holding number as well from the land office.
“There is always frustration among the people centering the land survey system . . . Because when the survey work is done in an area, a smile appears on someone’s face while some others become unhappy,” he added.
The advisor directed the officials concerned to take special initiatives to reduce public sufferings by dig-itizing the survey work in the days to come.
Expressing his satisfaction over the ongoing activities of the land management automation project, Hasan Arif suggested for adopting more transparent, accountable and people-friendly strategies through social motivation.
He also sought a very positive as well as supportive role of the mass-media to gear up land management of the government.
During the meeting, Land Management Automation Project Director Md Iftekher Hossain and Deputy Secretary Salim Ahmed presented the overall project outlines before the adviser at the conference room of the ministry.
Land Secretary Md Khalilur Rahman, Land Reform Board Chairman Md Abdus Sabur Mandol and Land Appeal Board Chairman Muhammad Ibrahim, among others, were present there.