Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar has warned that the reduction of agricultural land in Bangladesh due to project implementation and infrastructure development poses a major threat to food security.
He made these remarks during the 150th meeting of the Central Land Allocation Committee in the conference room of the Ministry of Land.
The land adviser went on to add that that agricultural land – required for various state development works, including roads, highways, and terminals – is being used for many state projects, which is resulting in agricultural land decreasing. As such, the use of agricultural land for other purposes must be minimised as much as possible.
He said that development projects should be undertaken by implementing the national spatial plan while preserving environmental balance, adding that, in the adoption and implementation of all projects, environmental regulations must be strictly followed.
Environmental clearance must be obtained before project implementation because, according to the Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995, it is mandatory to obtain environmental clearance from the Department of Environment for establishing any industrial plant or undertaking any project, he said.
To obtain this clearance, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) must be approved before the project begins, and all environmental standards must be met.
The meeting discussed that, for the project titled “Power Grid Network Strengthening Project” in Dinajpur district, final approval for the acquisition of 23 acres of land in Dargapara mouza under Parbatipur upazila of Dinajpur district (LA Case No. 08/2023-24) for the purpose of upgrading the under-construction “Barapukuria (North) 230 kV Switching Substation” to high voltage will be decided in the next meeting. The administratively approved land area for the project is 341.8 acres.
The committee granted final approval for the acquisition of 116.3305 acres of land across a total of 7 mouzas – 6 under Sirajdikhan upazila and 1 under Srinagar upazila in Munshiganj district – for the implementation of the “Padma Bridge Rail Link Project”.
The committee also granted final approval for the acquisition of a total of 10.6799 acres of land in the mouzas of Ataulla, Dayamir, Kheirpur North, and Raikdara under Osmaninagar upazila of Sylhet district, under LA Case No. 05/2021-22 for the project titled “Land Acquisition and Utility Transfer Project: Support to Dhaka (Kachpur) Sylhet Tamabil Highway Upgradation to Four Lanes with Separate Service Lanes on Both Sides”. The project involves some religious institutions, regarding which the Sylhet district commissioner reported having spoken with local residents and obtained their consent.
The committee granted final approval for the acquisition of 22.062 acres of land in Barshala mouza under Sadar upazila of Sylhet district, under LA Case No 05/2020-2024 for the project titled “Upgradation of Kumargaon-Badaghat-Airport Road to National Highway Four-Lane (Including Axle Loads)”. Although the land classification was mentioned as “Tilla” (hill), the Sylhet district commissioner clarified that there are no hills there.
Present at the meeting were Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Land ASM Saleh Ahmed, Senior Secretary of the Road Transport and Highways Division Md Ehsanul Haque, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr Fahmina Ahmed, Agriculture Secretary Emdad Ullah Mian, and Secretary of the Ministry of Railways Md Fahimul Islam, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Land and various other ministries.
