Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman yesterday underscored that there is no alternative to transparent, ac-countable and people-friendly land management for building a just and modern state system.
“Providing services is not an act of charity toward the people; rather ensuring public services is the re-sponsibility of the government,” he said after inaugurating a 3-day nationwide “Land Service Fair-2026” at the Bhumi Bhaban in the city’s Tejgaon area yesterday morning.
In this context, he said, the main objective of his government is to establish a corruption-free, harass-ment-free, technology-driven, and citizen-friendly land management system that will further accelerate the country’s sustainable development.
He said, “Perhaps 100 years ago, a piece of land had only one owner. Over time, that same land may now have one hundred or more owners. As ownership and shared ownership of land have increased, nat-urally the responsibilities of land officials in maintaining proper records have also increased.”
Noting that landowners are more or less familiar with terms such as ownership, land tax, deeds, khatian, dag, porcha, mutation, mouza, CS, RS, and DS records, the premier said therefore, people had to visit land offices to keep their ownership records updated.
However, with technological advancement, land management has also become modernized, he added.
Tarique Rahman, also ruling BNP chairman said that more modern and technology-based land manage-ment becomes easier to resolve land-related disputes.
“Ensuring online services in land management will significantly reduce public suffering related to land issues. At the same time, the influence of middlemen in land offices regarding land disputes will also decrease,” he said.
Besides, he said the ongoing land fair will further raise public awareness about modern land management and citizens’ responsibilities.
The Prime Minister said as the country’s population increases, the amount of land per person is decreas-ing and as a result, the value of land is rising along with disputes, lawsuits and complexities related to land.
In many cases, he said, these disputes destroy peace within individuals and families and also create ob-stacles to national development activities. In such a reality, planned land use, accurate record preserva-tion, and efficient management have become demand of the time.
Stating that the Ministry of Land is working to prepare accurate land records through advanced technol-ogy-based surveys, Tarique Rahman said almost all services of the land administration are being brought under digital platforms to make services easier, faster, and more effective for citizens.
“Our goal is to build a land management system where people no longer have to run from office to of-fice or face corruption and harassment to receive land services,” he said.
Stating that more than 47 lakh civil and criminal cases are currently pending in courts across the coun-try, with land-related cases accounting for the majority, Tarique Rahman said, “Therefore, one of the government’s top priorities right now is the swift disposal of cases pending in the courts.”
Land Minister Md Mizanur Rahman Minu presided over the inaugural ceremony while State Minister for Land Mir Mohammed Helal Uddin and Land Secretary ASM Saleh Ahmed spoke on the occasion.
Social Welfare and Women and Children Affairs Minister Abu Zafar Md Zahid Hossain, Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid, Law Minister Md Asaduzzman, Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam, Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Afroza Khanam (Rita), State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism and State Minister for Railways Habibur Rashid, members of parliament and senior government officials were present at the event.
