A workshop titled 'Workshop on Land Survey, Settlement and Record of Rights' has been held at Jahangirnagar University in collaboration with the Faculty of Law and Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) today.
On Monday (January 30), The training workshop started at 10 am and ended at 2 pm at the Senate Hall of the University. About 200 Department of Law and Justice students participated in the seminar to learn about the land survey, rights record, mutation and the real scenario of land management in Bangladesh in particular.
In the speech of the chief guest in the workshop, Executive Director of ALRD Shamsul Huda said, "The land ministry does not have any specific information about Khas land. They give one kind of information today, which differs tomorrow. Thus many khas lands have now gone out of control."
"A long time ago Professor Abul Barakat showed in a study that the amount of khas land in the country is 33 lakh acres. But then the responsible authority disagreed with the information. Jot-dars have taken over char lands in various regionss after the demise of the zamindari system. And now government agencies have taken over. Ordinary people are not getting it anymore. 20,000 acres of land has been given in Noakhali to build a training centre for the army and navy. We can't stop the occupation of such khas land," he added.
The students of JU Law School, along with their respected faculty members.
The executive director of ALRD also said, "Protection of civil rights is one of the responsibilities of the state. Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was made during the tenure of this government."
"For the failure to fully implement it, responsibilities must also be taken. The government claims that 98 per cent has been implemented, which is a baseless claim. If done so, why are the women of Chittagong and their children being denied justice today? Why didn't they get their land?"
Emphasizing ensuring the right of the country's poor people to get justice, he said, "Poverty has a relationship with justice. But today justice is a matter of being bought and sold. Whoever has money has justice. At least 5/6 laws have given immunity to state officials. It has been said that if government employees commit crime, then he should be presumed to have done it in good faith. It should be challenged in the High Court. It is totally against the right to justice."
In the workshop, the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Chairman of the Department, Associate Professor Tapos Kumar Das, said, "It still takes a long time to conclude a case in our country. We expect professionalism from the students of the law department. They should understand the reality not from the judge's seat but from the common man's side. Activism is very important to secure rights. Be prepared to make the maximum sacrifice from your position."
In the training session, ALRD Program Coordinator Rafiq Ahmed Sirazi, Program Officer AKM Bulbul Ahmed, Assistant Professor of Department of Law Shaila Alam Asha, Lecturer Tamanna Aziz Tuli, A Z M Umar Faruque Siddiki and Umma Habiba were present among others.
