The amendment to the Chiitagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act, 2001 has landed in bureaucratic tangle, reducing chances of its passage by parliament in the twilight hours of the government’s tenure. The amendment holds the key to the resolution of the CHT issue affecting both the tribes people and the settlers from the plains, concerned sources observed. No significant progress has been made so far since an inter-ministerial meeting on July 30, 2012.
In that meeting the government decided to amend the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act, 2001 to remove certain clauses of the Act which are considered to be controversial and to empower the commission to resolve disputes over ‘illegal eviction’ in CHT region since 1979.
Eight months after the meeting, the concerned ministry is yet to prepare the final draft of the law. The Land ministry is responsible to finalise the draft Act, which will be forwarded to the law ministry for vetting. After vetting, the draft law will be placed before the cabinet for approval.
The officials of the law ministry told The Independent on condition of anonymity that the land ministry does not appear to be in a hurry to amend the act as they will lose direct control on land in the CHT region. For this reason, the responsible officials of the land ministry are not working to finalise the draft of the Act.
Secretary of law ministry Abu Saleh Sheikh Mohammad Zahirul Huq said if the land ministry sends the final draft of the act for vetting—- it will be placed before cabinet meeting for approval immediately.
A senior assistant secretary of the land ministry on condition of anonymity told The Independent that involvement of several ministries had been delaying the final draft of the Act.
And how much more time the process will take, the official had no ideas.
But the state minister for CHT Affairs Dipankar Talukdar exuded optimism about it saying, “The land ministry and the law ministry are working together for this. We hope the commission will be effective after completion of the amendment and it will act properly to resolve the land disputes in the CHT.”
He further said he had directed the conceded secretaries to finalise the draft as soon as possible.
The CHT treaty implementation committee made 13 suggestions in the wake of demand of Parbattya Chattagram Jana Samhaty Samity (PCJSS) for amendment to the CHT land commission law. In that meeting the concerned ministries reached unanimity to include the clauses suggested by the CHT treaty implementation committee. On the other hand, influential leader of PCJSS and member of CHT Regional Council Goutom Chakma expressed the fear that the land ministry may not accept three clauses of the CHT treaty committee suggested 13 clauses.
-With The Independent input
