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Corruption in land office

Move to break up syndicate


Published : 03 Jan 2020 09:13 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 06:48 PM

The land ministry has taken a move to break up the syndicate of corrupt officials and staffs at its all offices from central to field level adopting largescale transfers.
As part of the move, it has already transferred a large number of officials and employees who were engaged in various irregularities and corruption in association with a section of outsider musclemen, brokers and cheats.
According to sources, a bulk of officials and employees of land offices at different places of the country have been transferred in the last month.
“Based on investigation reports and allegations, the ministry is checking, crosschecking and rechecking the activities of a section of officials and employees. The authorities concerned are taking necessary steps against them. And it is a continuous process. The move will continue until freeing the land ministry from corruption,” a highly placed source in the land ministry and the Records and Survey Directorate said.
Land office is considered as one of the major areas of corruption. There was no end to the harassment of the people when it came to land related services.
After appointing Saifuzzaman Chowdhury as the land minister, the circumstance started changing progressively.
He took a firm stand against corruption. Concerned people have started changing the image of irregularities in the sector over the past one year.
The minister believes that, the cycle of corruption has developed in a mutual association because of long service in the same land office.
Due to lack of transparency, many officials used to ‘transfer money’ to convenient places.
Therefore, initiatives have been taken to transfer the officers and employees of the same place. Transparency is also being brought about in the transfer process. Land office officials are being replaced through lotteries, according to sources. On December 29, according to the directives of the ministry of land, 77 Deputy Assistant Settlement Officers, who have been working for three years or more in the Land Records and Surveys Department and the Office of the Subordinate, were transferred.
The next day, on December 30, 52 Deputy Assistant Settlement Officers were transferred together for the same reason.
Not only that, on December, 56 branches of the Department of Land Records and Surveys have been transferred. Earlier on December 17, the land ministry directed the Department of Land Records and Surveys to make the change.
The land ministry decides to replace the transferred officers with a lottery. On 12 December, the land ministry inaugurated a lottery transfer program at the ministry of land.
On that day, the land minister said, “Everyone wants to get posting in a good place. Because of the lottery, he or she will go wherever lottery chooses. No one will have any question about this”.
Land Secretary Masudur Rahman Patwary said, “Everyone wants to be transferred according to their convenience. Many are also looking for ways to illegally transfer large sums of money to another location.
This will be eliminated as the lottery system is introduced, he added.
Due to widespread changes, some people are also facing problems. Many transferred officials will retire within a year. They are in trouble. In addition, it has been reported that the transfer of officials involved in land-related work is being complicated.
Director General of Land Records and Survey Department (Additional Secretary) Md Taslimul Islam said, "We are trying to eliminate the irregularities in land management through transfer. At the behest of the land minister, the lottery has also been introduced.”
"Besides, we are also removing the officer who has been in the position for more than three years," he added.
Regarding the concern of transferring officers who are retiring within a short period of time, the Director General said, “We did not replace those who will retire within six months. However, I have replaced the officers who have one year. May be after six months we can give them their place. '