The public prosecutors
of successive governments showed lukewarm attitudes in recovering the lands as they did not find the tasks having enough financial incentives for them. Public prosecutors are paid pittances for their work in these cases
Freestyle grabbing of government lands
That vast tracts of land under the two city corporations of Dhaka are under illegal occupation is a disturbing piece of information. A report on this appeared in a leading daily newspaper on October 17. The grabbed lands are located at Gabtoli, Joykali Mondir, Khilgaon, Nayabazar, Mohammadpur, Nilkhet, Chankharpool, Mohakhali and Gulshan areas. Influential people, particularly those loyal to the party in power, under successive governments, are mostly the grabbers of the lands. Though legal battles have been going on for recovering the grabbed lands, possibility of getting back the same is slim, as the grabbers are very much powerful; they are backed by fake documents, avaricious lawyers and dishonest government officials.
It is very much worrying to note that government lands worth hundreds of crores of taka have been grabbed by these elements. The grabbers have constructed dwelling houses, shops and other establishments on those lands and are making a lot of money showing thumbs to the administration. Lands have also been grabbed in the name of establishing religious organizations.
Over the years, the authorities concerned have become hardly successful in recovering the lost lands. The public prosecutors of successive governments showed lukewarm attitudes in recovering the lands as they did not find the tasks having enough financial incentives for them. Public prosecutors are paid pittances for their work in these cases. Taking advantage of it, the lawyers engaged by the grabbers with lucrative fees gained the upper hand. There were also instances of government lawyers working for the grabbers in exchange for big amounts of money. Due to the lackadaisical roles of the government lawyers the cases relating to the lands get weakened and the grabbers ultimately win the same.
The culture of grabbing public property has become chronic in the country. It is high time for the government to become proactive to recover the grabbed lands and at the same time maintain vigilance so that further attempts to grab these lands again cannot be made. Government leaders must realize the great need of recovering these lands. Sometimes public lands cannot be found where infrastructures of utlity services like WASA, DESA, etc., can be laid because the potential sites have been grabbed.
The weak legal system for recovering the grabbed lands should be strengthened. There is no room for dilly-dallying and procrastination over such a serious issue. The financial incentives for the lawyers and public prosecutors should be raised appropriately. The newly elected city corporation mayors have vital roles to play in this regard. The unscrupulous land grabbers should be identified and punished. The government officials who aid the grabbers should be reined in.
