State Minister for Land Saifuzzaman Chowdhury on Thursday said many land-related complications and disputes will be resolved once a complete digital survey is conducted, reports UNB.

“Once we carry out a complete digital land survey, I'll alone lead to reducing a lot of complications and land cases. That's why we're now giving highest importance to carrying out the digital land survey,” he said.

The state minister was addressing a seminar on land services titled ‘Strengthening Public-Private Partnership to Ensure Easy Access to Land Services and Information' organised by BRAC's Human Rights and Legal Aid Services (HRLS) programme at the BRAC Centre in the capital, said a press release.

Hailing BRAC’s 'Bhumibandhu' initiative, he said, “Since BRAC works to benefit the marginalised people, I believe its initiative will also help the common people establish their just rights on their land property.”

He also suggested that BRAC should create a model of land service delivery by starting work with a single union.

Chairman of Land Reform Board Md Mahfuzur Rahman, Director (administration) of Department of Land Record and Survey Matin-ul-Hoque and HRLS programme's associate director Syeda Farisa Kabir also spoke on the occasion.

At the programme, the speakers pointed out inadequate implementation of land-related laws, lack of information, faulty land surveys and land records as some of the major challenges preventing delivery of proper land-related services to the citizens.

Along with these problems, lengthy processes followed in service delivery and complications and lack of transparency in financial transaction also perpetuate. As a result, the different initiatives taken up by the government to digitise and modernise the land management system are failing to bring expected benefits to the general people, according to the speakers.

The experts came up with a number of recommendations at the seminar that include bringing change to the attitude among the land officials, strengthening collaboration with the non-governmental actors, increasing the number of staff at the department of land survey, boosting public information dissemination activities and preventing corruption and lengthiness in delivery of land services.

BRAC Human Rights and Legal Aid Services (HRLS) programme organised the seminar as a part of its effort to facilitate delivery of better quality land services through collaborations between the government and non-governmental agencies.