The cabinet has called for the formulation of an integrated land management policy involving several government departments in order to retrieve public land under illegal occupation.
Thousands of hectares of government-owned land abutting roads and railways are currently in the illegal possession of various agencies and individuals.
The aim is to generate revenue by leasing the land or constructing commercial complexes for rent, sources said.
The cabinet decision to have a multi-department policy comes in response to a draft land management policy unilaterally put forward by the Road Transport and Highways Division (RHD).
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the Dhaka Tribune: “The cabinet has decided on the need for an integrated land management policy because not only the RHD but also Bangladesh Railway, Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), city corporations and municipalities have land that has been illegally occupied.”
“The lack of a proper policy has caused massive losses in possession and revenue,” he added.
He did not clarify how much land was currently illegally occupied.
According to sources, more than 20,000 hectares of RHD land and more than 1,619 hectares of Railway land are under illegal occupation by government and non-government organisations and other influential quarters.
According to the cabinet decision, related ministries will jointly work to formulate a new policy, but the Road Transport and Highways Division will lead the effort.
Road Transport and Highways Secretary MAN Siddique told the Dhaka Tribune: “According to the cabinet decision, we will jointly start work on a new integrated land management policy.”
How income can be generated
According to the draft policy that was submitted to the cabinet, RHD would lease out land for a maximum of five years. Lessees would be able to renew contracts for fees of 5-10%.
For billboards, clients would pay Tk2,000-40,000 on national highways, Tk1,200-24,000 on regional highways and Tk800-16,000 on district highways, as per the draft policy.
The government would enjoy the right to use commercial billboards for 30 days for free, when needed, according to the RHD draft policy.