It is disheartening to know that for decades now around 30 acres of railway land worth Tk 25,000 crore in capital Dhaka and Chattogram remained in the hands of illegal occupants. What is more disturbing is that till date, about 100 letters have been sent to the Railway Department and the Railway Ministry from the railway's land office seeking directives regarding demolition of the illegal infrastructures at Motijharna and Fulbaria railway land. But no directives were given in this regard.
In Bangladesh, out of the 61,860.28 acres of railway land, 3,841.53 acres are now reported to have been occupied by public and private organisations and other individuals. The highest 2,828.36 acres have been grabbed by private organisations and individuals, 922.34 acres by government, quasi-government and autonomous organisations and 90.83 acres by educational and religious institutions.
However, moves to recover the land have most often failed due to intervention by vested quarters which include political leaders, as well as the non-cooperation of government agencies, while in a few cases where the grabbers were successfully evicted, the land was encroached upon again soon after. In addition, there are people pilfering the resources contained in the lands, such as fuel and iron, and selling them illegally.
Railway Ministry should issue a directive
to recover illegally occupied railway
land across the country in no time
Bangladesh Railway efforts to recover its land so far grabbed and use unused lands have been insignificant in the absence of a land use master plan. An initiative was taken 12 years ago to survey all railway land, and prepare a land use plan and web-based land information system. But it is yet to be completed.
Considering the situation, Railway Ministry should issue a directive to recover illegally occupied railway land across the country in no time. It is high time that the ministry identifies the exact amount and locations of illegally occupied land and takes stern legal measures to evict the grabbers. This must be done indiscriminately regardless of who the illegal occupiers may be and whoever may attempt to intervene in the process. The Railway Ministry should also act expeditiously to ensure that the railway land use plan is in place for its expansion and the land is well looked after. Finally, the retrieved land must be put to good use under its originally or newly intended purposes to effectively discourage illegal encroachment in future.
