Dhaka //

Eleven organizations have demanded the formation of a separate commission for land and agrarian reforms. They say that this commission will identify immediate, mid-term and long-term recommendations for land and agricultural reforms.
Eleven organizations have demanded the appointment of a separate commission for fundamental land and agricultural management reforms. They made this demand in a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Thursday morning.

The organizations organizing the press conference are ALRD, Nisvera Kari, Blast, Bela, Bersik, Kapeng Foundation, National Adivasi Parishad, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, Human Rights Culture Foundation, Incidin-Bangladesh and Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Parishad.

ALRD or Association for Land Reform in Bangladesh executive director Shamsul Huda read a written statement at the press conference. In the written statement, it is said that good governance or social justice will not be ensured in the country by keeping poverty, land deprivation and discrimination alive. For that, their demands and positions are highlighted through 10 points.

The demands are for a separate commission for land and agrarian reforms. This commission will identify immediate, medium term and long term recommendations for land and agrarian reform.

A qualified person with experience in this field should be appointed as an advisor for land and agriculture. He will be in charge of these two ministries full-time.

Traditional rights of small ethnic groups to land and forests and their own cultivation should be recognized. Farmers of other small ethnic groups, including jumchasi, should be brought under agricultural credit and given loans on easy terms.

A separate land commission should be constituted for the tribals of the plains. Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Settlement Commission should be implemented.
Instructions for the effective implementation of Section 97 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act should be provided.

Regular activities should be undertaken to ensure landless people’s special land settlement and security of tenure and to provide agricultural inputs and technical assistance along with agricultural loans on easy terms.

Landless or marginal women farmers should be ensured recognition as farmers with special land settlement, separate agricultural cards and unconditional access to agricultural services and credit. Special programs, incentives and activities should be increased to encourage youth and youth in agriculture.

Monitoring and accountability should be strengthened in all offices of land management structure, activities of land registry office, land record and survey and digital survey, e-namzari to remove existing corruption, harassment and inconvenience. Exemplary punishment should be ensured for those found guilty of corruption and dereliction of duty.

Expediting the full implementation of the Transfer of Property Act and establishing a permanent Minority Commission to protect the land-citizen rights and security of minorities.

Agricultural land protection and use law should be finalized on the basis of public opinion and partnership.

Congratulating the interim government for the six reform commissions that have been made with good governance in the center to resolve the existing crisis and inequality in the country, Shamsul Huda said in the press conference, “However, we had hoped that after the anti-discrimination student uprising, the student-people supported interim government would think about agriculture and farmers. A separate commission will be formed for the issue of land and agrarian reforms with due importance. But we saw that six commissions were made on important issues for reforms, but no separate commissions were made on land and agriculture.

Barsik director Pavel Parth, Bela’s lawyer Rumana Sharmin, blast director (law) spoke at the press conference. Barkat Ali, Nirala Mardi, cultural secretary of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad, Ujjal Azim, program manager of Kapeng Foundation, Nahid Shams, lawyer of Human Rights Culture Foundation and Manindra Kumar Nath, joint general secretary of Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad.