Effective land governance to be pursued as part of second perspective plan 

To create a supportive environment for markets to function efficiently, effective land governance and administration will be among several goals to be pursued, said officials at a recent meeting on the second perspective plan of Bangladesh.   

Other goals include effective implementation of the 2010 labour law with 2013 amendments, securing property rights including intellectual property and marketing regulations–ensuring operation of the free market principles with appropriate checks and balances removing all barriers to entry.

Titled "Making Vision 2041 a Reality: Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041 (PP2041)," the meeting was held at the National Economic Council conference room in the capital's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar on Thursday (September 10). 

The quality of land management was mentioned as one of the perception indicators of the market economy in the second perspective plan of Bangladesh. The plan was approved on February 25 this year.

It states, "An efficient land market with effective property rights is a key institution for longer-term development. Property rights are most relevant for land, business and intellectual property."

The plan says, "Evidence shows that rapid and inclusive development of societies is driven by strong and effective institutions. Therefore, PP2041 recognises the critical role of institutions in Bangladesh's development process." 

It also says, "The resulting reinvigoration of public institutions will generate large payoffs. Good governance is the launchpad for the longer-term perspective development of Bangladesh. The strategic thrust of PP2041 will be on strengthening institutions." 

In the plan, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the institutions for land management was mentioned as one of the capacity-building institutions.

It says, "In order to attract private investment–including foreign private investment required to reach the bold 2041 income target–particular attention must be paid to: financial governance, fiscal governance, land governance, urban governance, corporate governance, and the court system–to enforce contracts and adjudicate disputes." 

Therefore, going forward towards 2041, the plan mentions that land and city administration will be prioritised up to 2031.

"Other priorities need to be continued up to 2041 and beyond. There is no scope for slacking on effort," the plan says.
In addition to the associated strategies for flood control, water storage, irrigation, agriculture, forestry resource management, and ecological balance, land management has also been identified as a major element of the policy package for reducing poverty and improving environmental management during PP2041.

Among other things in agriculture and rural development, there is a proposal for recovering lost government land, particularly khas land, including the already filled-in riverbanks and canals. Plans have also been made to introduce sound regulations to restrict improper use of agricultural land and to undertake digitalisation of agricultural land records.

The plan states, "a2i introduced e-mutation services to provide citizens with responsive, hassle-free land services with the use of ICT in improving the operation of land administration." 
A large number of citizens across Bangladesh have benefitted from obtaining services through e-mutation.

The plan further says, "The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) award-winning National Digital Enterprise Architecture (BNDA) of Bangladesh has been developed for the integration of essential e-government services like e-pension, land record management, etc. Porichoy has been developed to provide easy access to ID verification services as a foundation to a host of citizen-focused services."

The government has adopted a major long-term initiative called the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 (BDP2100) that seeks to improve the management of: water, land, ecology, environment and climate change through strategies, policies, investment programmes, and institutions.

By implementing and strengthening land management–one of the components of Delta Plan 2100–it is possible to carry out the constitutional commitment to establishing economic and social justice on time, which is also one of the factors of achieving the sustainable development goals.