50pc households landless

General Secretary of Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) Prof Abul Barkat revealed the data at a working session on 'State, Society and Governance' at the 15th Biennial Conference of the association in the city yesterday.

He said that 12 crore people is directly or indirectly involved in land cases, of which 75 per cent are related to land dispute. It takes nine and a half years on an average to settle a land related case.

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The persons involved in land cases lose assets worth Tk 12,520 crore a year while only one per cent of annual expenses on land cases worth Tk 24,860 crore goes to state exchequer.

Prof Barkat said some 90 per cent of the total one crore bigha khas land of the country is grabbed by criminals who are closely linked with the government as well as state.

He described the land-water situation as a reflection of gradual increase in politico-economic criminalisation in the country. He stressed the need for land, agrarian and aquarian reforms as a national important agenda with special emphasis on substantive public action.

He also placed more than 70 recommendations divided into five broad categories -- khas land and water bodies, vested property, land and forest of indigenous people, land dispute and land related laws and administration and management.

Prof K Mustahidur Rahman presided over the session. Tofail Ahmed, Shahidul Haque, Mir Nazmul Karim, Dhiraj Kumar Nath, Md Abdur Rahman, M Zainul Abedin, Gour Gabinda Goswami, Mizanur Rahman, Khandaker Quadrat-I-Elahi and Mohammad Ali Akbar also spoke.