Land management to be brought under one SOP: Land secy

Land Secretary Md Mustafizur Rahman on Saturday said the entire land management is being brought under one 'Standard Operating Procedure' (SOP).

"The entire land management is being brought under one 'Standard Operating Procedure' (SOP) by reducing the 'Discretionary Power' of land officials at the field level to reduce the corruption opportunities," he said.

Land Secretary Md Mustafizur Rahman was speaking as the chief guest at a Shadow Parliamentary Debate competition on 'People's Participation and Good Governance in Land Management' organized by Debate for Democracy at the auditorium of FDC in city's Tejgaon, a press release said.

"This will greatly reduce the scope of corruption for land service officials," he added. Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran presided over the event.

In his speech, the land secretary said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had given 31 directions during her visit to the land ministry.

The Ministry of Land under the leadership of Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury is implementing it today, he continued.

Besides, the mutation application system, by calling the 16122 number over the phone, is soon to be established, he said.

In the same manner, applying for Record of Rights (Khatian) and land maps by calling 16122 and paying land development taxes by calling 16122 is now running, he said.

Besides, the land documents which are already in the government offices need not be submitted separately by the applicants in this manner, he said, adding that it will be much easier to submit a mutation application.

The land secretary said the draft regarding land crime law is almost finalized and would soon be published for public opinion.

He also said that steps have been taken to amend the Land Survey Tribunal.