Land Minister Narayon Chandra Chanda has laid emphasis on increasing public awareness of registered partition deeds in the case of inherited land.

The Minister of Land gave this direction to the Assistant Commissioners (Land) (ACLand) in the speech of the chief guest at the Innovation Showcase 2024 program at the Bhumi Bhavan located in Tejgaon, Dhaka, on Thursday, under the initiative of the Ministry of Land. In the event, 10 innovation initiatives proposed in the financial year 2023-24 from the departments and organizations under the Ministry of Land and the field level were displayed.

Chairman of the Land Appeal Board AKM Shamimul Haque, Chairman of the Land Reforms Board Abdus Sabur Mandal, Director General of the Land Records and Survey Directorate Anis Mahmud were present as special guests while the Secretary of the Ministry of Land MD Khalilur Rahman presided over the innovation showcase event.

Narayon Chandra Chanda said in our country, the reason behind most sibling, or other family disputes is due to the distribution or sharing of property, either verbally or in writing on simple paper without a registered partition deed. Later, conflicts break out due to raising of various interests. He pointed out that, if different ownership-based plots are mentioned in the khatian (Record of Rights), disputes can be avoided to a large extent.

During this time, mentioning that Assistant Commissioners (Land) are the ‘key-persons’ in field-level land management, the Land Minister said, you must take the initiative to work on this matter and, if necessary, think innovatively.

The Land Minister emphasized the importance of ensuring the rights of sisters in the distribution of family assets. He stated that, in addition to protecting government land, citizens’ land should also be safeguarded. He urged land officials to perform their duties diligently in this regard. Advising caution regarding false cases, the Land Minister said appropriate measures should be taken if such cases are proven.

The Land Minister underscored the significance of innovative initiatives, noting that today’s advanced level of smart land management owes much to past innovations. He expressed confidence that future progress will be driven by present-day innovative endeavors. The minister envisioned realizing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s vision of a smart Bangladesh by 2041 through effective innovation across various sectors, particularly in land management.

Officials of the Ministry of Land and its affiliated agencies, officials of district and upazila level land offices, officials of various projects of the Ministry of Land, land consultants, and officials of land service digitization vendor organizations were present on the occasion among others.

(2023-24 Awards)

Earlier, the participants showcased their innovations through a pictorial exhibition at the beginning of the program in the morning. During this time, the guests were informed about various innovative initiatives. A five-member judging panel conducted their evaluation process and completed the evaluation based on several criteria.

Based on the evaluation, the innovation proposed by Md. Ashraful Kabir, AC Land, Sherpur Jhenaigati, ‘Discontinuation of payment of Land Development Tax Receipts in land related to Government Interests and Simplification of Verification of Government Interest in the matter of approval of Mutation’ won first place.

The innovation proposed by Mustahsin Tasmeem Rahman Anidra of Barisal Banaripara AC Land, ‘Topographical Database of Assigned Property and Khas Zamin’, secured second place, and the innovation ‘Report Tracking and Reminder System (RTRS)’ proposed by Pabna Sathiya AC Land Md. Rifatul Haque, earned third place.

The Minister of Land handed over the crest and certificate of honor to the winners.

(previous award)

It is noteworthy that prizes were simultaneously awarded to the winners of the Innovation Showcase for the fiscal years 2020-21 and 2022-23. In 2021-22, there was no Innovation Showcase due to the Corona pandemic. Additionally, Innovation Showcases were not held at the Ministry and Subordinate Department/Organization levels after 2020-21. (*Innovative awardees below are currently promoted or transferred to different departments; designations during the proposed period are shown next to the names).

At the Ministry and Department/Agency levels, the Ministry of Land secured first place for ‘Digital Record Room’, the Land Reforms Board achieved second place for ‘Online Land Development Tax’, and ‘Online Registration of Trainees’ of The Land Administration Training Center received the third prize in the Innovation Showcase for FY 2020-21.

At the field level, in the 2020-21 fiscal year’s Innovation Showcase, Madaripur Sadar AC Land’s Hosne Ara Tanni claimed first place for ‘Chandina VT Renewal of Digital Register and Campaign’, while Munshiganj Sirajdikhan AC Land’s Ahmed Sabbir Sajjad secured second place for ‘7-10 working days for heroic freedom fighters’. AC Land Md. Abdullah Al Mahfuz of Savar, Dhaka, secured third position for ‘Online Chandina VT Management’.

At the field level, in the 2022-23 fiscal year’s Innovation Showcase, Alauddin from Boalkhali AC Land, Chattogram, received the first prize for ‘Digital Map’, AC Land Likhon Bonik from Feni Sadar secured the second prize for ‘Smart Record Room and Google Cloud-based Data Management’, and AC Land Lailatul Hossen from Shariatpur Jajira received the third prize for ‘Online Register for Monitoring Investigation Reports (Google Sheet)’. The Minister of Land handed over crests and certificates of honor to the winners.