Staff Reporter, Dhaka : Amidst acute land scarcity in Bangladesh, the demand for good governance in the land management is a long-standing issue due to administrative procrastination, and complexity. The Government is continuously striving for effective solutions to land-related issues through administrative reforms and the use of modern technology for this reason.

This was stated in the full budget speech presented to the Jatiya Sangsad (House of the Nation) by Finance Minister A H M Mustafa Kamal last Thursday, June 1, 2023, during his speech for the financial year 2023-24.

According to the officially released National Budget Speech for the fiscal year 2023-24, 100 percent E-Mutation has commenced from 1 July 2019 in 61 districts except 3 hill districts through Land Development Tax Management System. Besides, the online land development tax collection and holding entry process is being conducted from FY2021-22 in these 61 districts.

According to the National Budget Speech of last Thursday, a total of 3,66,61,433 holding entries have been registered and TK 5,54,47,689 LD tax has been collected up to 9 March 2023. Besides, renovating, expanding and modernizing the record rooms of the offices of the Deputy Commissioners; setting up record rooms, expansion and modernization of Upazila land offices and installation of TV cameras with facial recognition features in 137 Upazila land offices and 137 Upazila settlement offices are underway.

The National Budget Speech for 2023-24 also states, the limited use of mobile land service centers for E-Mutation and the collection of land development tax at various locations throughout Dhaka city would be expanded in the coming years. A Call Centre (16222) has been established to provide land-related information services. The Postal Department is delivering Khatians and Mouza maps to the addresses of Bangladeshi citizens at home and abroad for a delivery fee.

According to the budget speech, a self-contained Land Information Management System (LIMS) software has been developed for Assistant Commissioners (Lands), helping them to complete the majority of their work digitally. Mutation, land related case management and settlement, land development tax management, budget management, rent certificate case settlement, monitoring dashboard etc. are among the things that have been incorporated in the software. All Land Development Taxes and Mutation Fees are being collected through A-Challan System from Pohela Boishakh for the current fiscal year.

Note, the officially published written budget statement is considered as read during the budget session of the House of the Nation. The written budget speech is accompanied by supporting documents related to data and reports related to information.

(Budget Data)
According to the documents related to detailed data provided along with the written full budget speech presented in parliament, a proposed allocation of Tk 2,459 crore 58 lakh 48 thousand has been put forth for the Ministry of Land in the upcoming financial year 2023-24. The proposed budget sets the target for total land revenue, specifically as non-NBR tax, at Tk 2,084 crore. In the current fiscal year of 2022-23, the Ministry of Land has been allocated an amount of Tk 2,383 crore 95 lakh 65 thousand. However, in the revised budget, this allocation has been reduced to Tk 1,950 crore 16 lakh 34 thousand.

According to the provided information, among the noteworthy 7 significant programs to be implemented by the Ministry of Lands in the financial year 2023-24 are: Guchchhogram project, Construction of Town and Union Land Office Across the Country project, Establishment of Digital Land Management System through Digital Survey and Settlement Operation project, Char Development and Settlement Project, Strengthening Operational Capacity of the Department of Land Records and Survey for Digital Survey project, Land Management Automation project, and Mouja and Plot Wise Digital National Land Zoning project.

(Climate Budget)
The 2023-24 budget documents also include a dedicated Climate Budget Report, inspired by the successes of previous years. The report identifies 25 Ministries/Divisions that have undertaken projects and initiatives to combat climate change. These endeavours have been supported with allocated funds, ensuring effective measures to tackle climate change. The release of this report signifies the sixth edition of the climate budget report.

As per 6th Climate Budget Report, the optimal use of modern technology and techniques in land management is a key objective of the Ministry of Land for ensuring efficient land administration and sustainable land resources. In its budget for fiscal year 2023-24, two climate-relevant initiatives are mentioned, which are the ‘Integration of land management laws and regulations’ and the ‘Digitization process’.

The Ministry aims to achieve climate resilience through the aforementioned initiatives, with specific objectives that include the ‘Identification of suitable agricultural land and allocation of land for landless people’, as well as the ‘Resettlement and socio-economic rehabilitation of extremely poor and disadvantaged landless people’.

The Ministry’s ongoing projects related to climate adaptation and mitigation include Guchhagram project and Char Development and Settlement project.

The allocated budget for climate-relevant expenditures in the Ministry of Land for FY2023-24 is Tk 67.96 crore which is 2.76 percent of total budget of Taka 2459.58 crore.

For Ministry of Land, the highest budget allocation in terms of both amount and percentage has been given to the following thematic areas respectively in achieving climate resilience: ‘Food Security, Social Protection, and Health’, ‘Research and Knowledge Management’, ‘Comprehensive Disaster Management’, and ‘Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening’. There are no budgets allocated to the thematic areas of ‘Mitigation and Low-Carbon Development’ and ‘Infrastructure’ for the land ministry.

As a part of the preparation for the implementation of the government’s Smart Bangladesh framework, the budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 highlighted the ‘Towards Smart Bangladesh Sustaining the Development Achievements in a Decade and a Half’. In line with this, the Ministry of Land has also commenced the implementation of smart land services.