REFORM in land, agricultural and environmental relations has been a long-standing demand and aptly reiterated by civic groups on April 20 from a roundtable discussion in Dhaka that asked the government to form a separate commission. A large portion of farmers in Bangladesh remain landless, with many abandoning the profession due to inadequate government support. Around 88 per cent of khas land is illegally occupied by influential elites, while laws meant to protect farmers鈥� rights remain largely unenforced. Women鈥檚 access to land ownership is even more precarious. An earlier report of the Association for Land Reform and Development said that less than 13 per cent of rural women owned land legally and only four to five per cent of them had control over their land. Minority communities also struggle to maintain their right to ancestral law without institutional and legal support. Meanwhile, in 2023, the Bangladesh Government Agricultural Information Service reported that infrastructure development such as roads, mills, industries and unplanned housing eliminates around 80,300 hectares of arable land per year, at a rate of 220 hectares per day. Therefore, land accumulation and industrial control over agriculture pushing more people into poverty is a burning public concern.
Unplanned industrialisation and unauthorised use of farmland for commercial purposes have been a public concern as the economy is still largely dependent on agricultural production. The ambiguities in the land use law and lack of enforcement are not only a reason for the shrinking agricultural land but also contributing to environmental degradation. Environmental concerns, however, are not limited to loss of land and land contamination.聽The government has recently taken a number of initiatives, including a ban on the use of one-time plastic products and attempted to reclaim a number of rivers, but radical policy-level change and their strict enforcement are needed for any systematic and sustainable change. The industrial sector rampantly violating related laws and regulations. The river commission remained largely ineffective as it lacks the statutory power to take actions against politically and financially influential river grabbers. Poor management of household and industrial waste has already contributed to land fertility and chemical contamination in the food chain. Therefore, the environmental and land reform issues are also food security and health safety concerns.
In the prevailing context, the demand for a separate reform commission to address the land, agriculture and environmental concerns is more than justified. A dedicated commission in this case can provide guidelines to amend laws and rework land and agricultural policies in consultation with all the stakeholders concerned. At the same time, the government should also review its own land use policy to stop its development projects that destroy farmland and damage the environment.
