Over 16,000-acre government land worth Tk160 crore remains occupied by grabbers in 10 upazilas under the district while only 3.78-acre has been recovered this year.
According to Barisal district administration, land registration and revenue departments, 16,863 of 45,696 acres of government land were encroached upon by a section of influential occupants.
The government owns 22,324 acres of land while the remaining 23,372 are vested property at the government disposal amounting to 45,696 acres.
Of the 16,863 acres, 1,553 include arable and non-arable land while the rest 15,310 are vested property.
The district Sadar upazila has 216 acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land and 489 vested property while Bakerganj 135 acres and 3,550 vested property, Babuganj 58 acres and 3,121 vested property, Banaripara 14 acres and 1,885 vested land, Gournadi 45 acres and 1,714 vested property, Ujirpur one acre and 861 vested land, Agoiljhara 13 acres and 794 vested property, Muladi two acres and 1,992 vested property, Mehendiganj 206 acres and 106 vested property and Hizla 850 acres and 798 vested property accounting for 45,696 acres.
Only five decimals of agricultural and non-agricultural government land are in Sadar, 50 in Bakerganj, 31 in Babuganj, 10 in Banaripara, 35 in Gournadi, 10 in Ujirpur, two in Agoiljhara, 10 in Muladi, 25 decimals in Mehendiganj and two acres in Hizla upazila recovered in this year.
The vast amount of government land was grabbed by politically influential persons.
No land from the illegal occupants of the vested properties, which were actually at the government disposal had been recovered yet, acknowledged additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Md Wahiduzzaman.
Wahiduzzaman said different types of legal framework, political influence and shortage of manpower in land department were causes of the government failure to recover those land from the illegal occupants.
