Draft proposes area-wise zoning
The government has drafted a bill seeking enactment of a law proposing provisions for land zoning to protect agricultural land in the wake of ‘rapid changes in nature and use of land for unplanned development activities such as building constructions and industrialisation.’
The land ministry has prepared the draft of the Agricultural Land Protection and Land Use Bill 2011, which proposes the punishment of a maximum of Tk 10 lakh in fine and two years’ imprisonment for converting arable land for other use or changing the proposed land zoning map.
The draft stipulates a strict prohibition on using arable land for industrialisation and setting up brick kilns or any other non-agricultural establishments.
It also proposes that area-wise land zoning in each of the city corporations, municipalities, upazilas and unions will be done on the basis of use of land and its characteristics.
‘The government has planned to protect the agricultural land. We have drafted a law which will be posted on the web site for public opinion after consulting with experts, lawmakers and alliance leaders,’ the land minister, Rezaul Karim Hira, said on Tuesday after a meeting of the land use implementation committee at the secretariat.
The meeting, also attended, among others, by the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on land ministry, AKM Mozammel Haque, discussed the draft of the law.
The minister said that the ministry would hold another meeting soon with experts, researchers, lawmakers and officials concerned to give the final shape to the draft.
Chairing the meeting, Rezaul Karim said that the existing laws would be examined further so that the new enactment does not have any conflicting provisions.
The minister, however, declined to disclose any provisions of the proposed draft to the media until it was put into the final form.
Officials told the meeting that the existing laws, if implemented, could protect arable land from being converted for other use such as industries, housing projects and unplanned development work.
They proposed that a provision should be incorporated to reduce the present ceiling of arable land ownership for each person to 20 bighas from 60 bighas in urban areas if the government enacts a new law. But it should vary from rural to urban areas, the officials added.
The draft proposes that mobile courts could be operated by executive magistrates in case of emergency to look into the violations of the law.
The offences under the law would be cognizable, bailable and negotiable, according to the draft.
Courtesy of New Age
