The government has formed a high-powered committee to prepare a comprehensive record of khas land lying unused across the country, with a view to bringing those under planned use and reducing pressure on agricultural land for development projects.

Planning Adviser Dr Wahiduddin Mahmud disclosed this ehile talking to reporters after the Ecnec meeting on Wednesday.

Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Adviser Mohammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan and Environment Adviser Sayeda Rizwana Hasan are the members of the committee.

The adviser said the committee will collect information from ministries and field-level administrations especially deputy commissioners to identify the volume and condition of khas land in every district.

“We have asked for this report within the next two months. A central database will be created. Whenever a new project is proposed and requires land the first question will be why nearby khas land cannot be used instead of acquiring cultivable agricultural land,” he said.

The adviser said most of the khas land is either lying idle, under illegal occupation, or occupied by infrastructure that remains unused.

Citing the example of a gene bank building in Gazipur he said it was constructed but never utilised as ministries failed to coordinate.

“This issue came up today because a new engineering college project was placed with a proposal for fresh land acquisition. One adviser pointed out that a fully built campus is lying unused and could serve the purpose. We realised we don’t actually know how much such land and infrastructure is available nationwide,” he noted.

He said if every new university, hospital, stadium or industrial facility requires agricultural land acquisition then cultivable land will gradually disappear. “With growing urbanisation and industrialisation, this is a real concern,” he said.