Kushtia district administration has recovered a huge quantity of government land which had been occupied by various extremist and vested interested groups.
Local sources said the district administration had launched a drive to recover the government land from illegal occupation on January this year.
The district authority has already recovered 116 acres of land worth about Tk206 crore and hung signboards on them.
But locals feared that the authority would not be able to keep the land under its control as many influential people have been annoyed by the drive.
Ziaul Haque, former councilor of Kushtia municipalty, said two sibling – Hamidul and Rashidul, who are the top two extremists in the district, had been occupying a large body of water for a long time.
“Locals are relieved that the district authority has managed to recover the pond from their grip.”
He worries that they might grab the pond again soon, because of their links with high-up individuals, if the administration does not remain strict about their position.
The authority has recovered 20 acres of land from Mirpur, Bheramara, Daulatpur and Kumarkhali under Khoksa upazila in the district last month.
Uttam Kumar Roy, assistant commissioner (land), said they would be vigilant about monitoring the land, making sure no one else grabs them.
According to the existing laws there is no chance to reoccupy the land, he added.
ASM Kaderi, vice-president of Kushtia Chamber of Commerce, said the previous government [the BNP-led 18 party alliance] could not take any measure to recover the land from illegal occupation.
He also demanded that the government allocate the land to landless people for their betterment.
Officials of district administration said they had to face many obstacles, especially from political leaders, while recovering the land.
Former mayor of Barkhada union parishad Abdul said, “It was a great initiative and the land which had been recovered is huge, but I suspect whether the administration would be able to keep the land under their control or not.”
Asked about the fear of losing the land again, Mofiz Uddin Ahmed, police super of the district, said there was no chance to grab the land as law enforcers would be strict if anyone tried to seize the land.
