Bangladesh interim government has taken an initiative to establish Citizen Service Centres at every deputy commissioner鈥檚 office across the country to make land-related services more accessible to the public, said senior secretary of the land ministry ASM Saleh Ahmed.
鈥楶eople often face harassment at land offices, and that鈥檚 why we have taken the initiative to deliver land services online to people鈥檚 doorsteps,鈥� he said while speaking at a seminar titled 鈥楾he Role of Media in Citizen-Friendly Land Services鈥� held at the media centre of Bangladesh Secretariat on Sunday.
Since December last year, five online-based services have been launched.
鈥楤esides, honest and transparent land management cannot be achieved by the Ministry of Land alone - assistance from the media and other stakeholders will be needed,鈥� he added.
The seminar was organised by the Automated Land Administration and Management System (ALAMS) project of the Land Ministry in association with the Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters Forum (BSRF).
BSRF President Masudul Hpque presided over the event, while General Secretary Ubaidullah Badol conducted the seminar.
鈥榃e have already made progress, but there鈥檚 still a long way to go. One of the biggest challenges is land surveys, nearly 80 per cent of land-related cases are linked to surveys,鈥� he said.
鈥榃e acknowledge that people face harassment at the land office. That is why we considered how to ensure services from home, which will reduce office-based harassment. We have introduced zoning, created separate units for sand management, and established a monitoring system. Though not entirely eliminated, crimes related to sand extraction have significantly decreased,鈥� he added.
Currently, there are around one million land-related cases across the country, with thousands being filed daily, he said, adding, 鈥榃e are setting up citizen service centres at every DC office to ensure people can easily access land services. At present, 817 land service assistance centres are operating nationwide.鈥�
The land secretary also mentioned the introduction of a mobile app that allows people to collect land records, obtain maps, and pay land development tax online.
鈥榃e have launched an app through which collecting forms, obtaining designs, and paying land development taxes can all be done from home. There used to be chaos regarding the sand quarry, but now it is being controlled through a single branch,鈥� he said.
Responding to allegations that land officials demand as much as Tk 4 lakh from citizens for land mutation (record of rights), while the official government fee is only Tk 1,170, the Land Secretary said: 鈥業n total, the cost for a mutation is Tk 1,170. But I鈥檝e heard that in some cases, up to Tk 4 lakh is being demanded. To bring such practices under control, we are establishing land service assistance centres.鈥�
He added that four such centres have already been launched in Dhaka.
Highlighting the progress and challenges of digital land services, Additional Secretary Md Emdadul Haque Chowdhury said the benefits of automated land services are already visible. People can now pay land development taxes from home, leading to higher revenue collection.
In the first three months of the current fiscal year, Tk 373 crore was collected, compared to Tk 286 crore during the same period last year, said Emdadul Haque.
Furthermore, through the 16122 call centre, citizens are receiving 24-hour service, with around 2,500 calls handled daily, he added.
鈥業n FY2024-25, Tk 1,154 crore was collected as land development tax, which was Tk 22 crore higher than the previous year. From 1 July to 1 October of FY2025-26, Tk 373 crore has already been collected,鈥� he said.
