The High Court on Tuesday ordered the authorities concerned to submit within 30 days a list of those who have occupied the land of Bangladesh Railway in different parts of the country. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a petition filed by a human rights organisation. Senior Advocate Manzill Murshid stood for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Md Saifuddin Khaled represented the state. High Court orders submission of list of top drug traffickers The HC also issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why the inaction of the respondents to free the land of railway should not be declared unlawful and directives should not be given to evict the land grabbers. Secretary to the Railway Ministry , Director of Bangladesh Railway and assistant land officers have been made respondents to the rule which is returnable in two weeks. High Court orders investigation into alleged money laundering by Biopharma It also wanted to know how much land of Bangladesh Railway has been occupied by the land grabbers. Advocate Manzill Murshid, said in 2016, a writ petition was filed seeking directives to evict the encroachers from the land of railway land in Narayanganj. Later, a number of reports were published over encroachment of railway land in Sirajganj, Bogura, Pabna and other districts. High Court questions hike in price of performing hajj Hundreds of acres of land of Bangladesh Railway have been occupied due to involvement of some unscrupulous railway officials and these lands needed to be free from occupation, he said. It is possible only through the intervention of the court, he added.  

After four decades, Bangladesh got back about one acre of disputed land on Naogaon border, thanks to the initiative of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has been obstructing Bangladeshi farmers since 1977 from cultivating around one acre of land — located at Ramchandrapur under Dhamoirhat upazila of Naogaon district, inside Bangladesh territory, some 100 yards from border pillar 257/20-R.   The disputed area is under the jurisdiction of Agradigun BOP of BGB Patnitala Battalion (14 BGB). Read more: Sheikh Hasina govt working to take Bangladesh-India connectivity to pre-1965 level: Shahriar Alam A flag meeting was held between BGB and BSF at the battalion commander level on the call of Patnitala Battalion (14 BGB) near border pillar 257/20-R from 11 am to 1:15 pm (Bangladesh time) today. At the flag meeting, Patnitala Battalion (14 BGB) Commanding Officer Lt. Col Md. Hamid Uddin led an 8-member BGB member delegation, while Commandant of India's Patiram battalion (164 BSF Battalion) Sanjay Kumar Mishra led a 6-member BSF delegation.

Buying a piece of land is a lifelong dream for many. While it might sound like any other transactional purchase, there are a lot of factors associated with buying land. Whether it’s the price, location, ownership, and even taxes – a potential buyer has to consider a lot of aspects before heading on to purchase land. There are also instances of fraudulent transactions and joint ownership. So, what’s the best way to purchase land? And what should be the prime considerations before purchasing land? Let’s find out. Is Purchasing Land a Good Investment? There’s a saying that land is one of the most secure investment options. While the inflation rate is increasing day by day and the value of currency is decreasing, investing in a tangible asset like land is rationally a good investment. But that investment also depends on several factors. Location Location plays a huge role in the overall ROI from land purchase. A simple example will make it obvious. A survey shows that between 1990 to 2010, per katha land in the Gulshan area has seen a price increment of over 1036%. And the story is somewhat similar in all the urban areas across the country. Read More: Shares vs Bonds: What is the Ideal Investment Opportunity  Zoning Regulations The price of land also depends on the zoning regulations. For example, there might be zoning regulations for commercial, residential, and office spaces. Some areas might have zoning against new developments. It’s important to check the zoning regulations before purchasing land. Intended Use The type of land also factors in the investment decision. For example, land suitable for agricultural production will have less value compared to land intended for residential use. So, make sure to have the right pricing strategy while buying land. Upfront Cost Land purchase is not as simple as just another transaction. Upfront costs regarding the survey, registration, and taxes are something that should be factored in as a total cumulative investment decision. Read More: Making Investment Decisions: Factors to consider when investing money Long-Term Investment Purchasing land as an investment is a long-haul game. Land prices do not appreciate overnight. It might be years or decades before there is a substantial increment in value. So long-term commitment should also be considered while investing in land. Factors to Consider Before Buying Land There are several factors to consider before purchasing land. Usual pricing and market overviews aside, a person should consider several aspects of ownership and transfer of ownership of an immovable property like land. Record of Rights/Ownership Rights The ownership of land is documented in several government documents issued by the land office under the Ministry of Land. These documents are the legal tender that verifies the ownership as well as the ability to transfer the ownership to a different person. Read More: Plot vs Apartment: Which is the Better Investment Option? To ensure there are no fraudulent activities associated with the land, the relevant documents should be checked by a land lawyer. Sales Deed The sales deed is the document outlining the ownership of the land through generations. The detailed sales deed can be found in the sub-registry office of the local area. A person can obtain a certified copy of the sales deed by paying the government stipulated fees. At least 10 to 25 years of sales deed should be checked to ensure that there is no ownership-related issue with the land. In the case of inheritance, the inheritance deed (“Bontonnama”) should also be checked. Read More: Apartment Buying Mistakes to Avoid to Secure Your Investment Khatiyan/Porcha The “Khatiyan” and the “Porcha” are the records of rights prepared by the land authority against the actual ownership of the land. The Khatiyan or Porcha should be cross-checked with the sales deed to determine the authenticity of the ownership of the land. There are two types of Khatiyan – draft and certified. It is better to avoid a draft Khatiyan. Regulation on Land (Khas/Auctioned/Unapproved) The local land office (Tohsil) should also have information on whether the land has been auctioned before or not. In such cases, the Government Claim Act 1993 Section 7 can bar anyone from buying or selling such land. Read More: Is Gold a Good Investment in 2023? The auction information can be found on the footnote of the Khatiyan if the land ever went for auction. A potential buyer should also check whether the land is “Khas” or unapproved land. Many lands fall under Khas (government owned), abandoned, unapproved, or approved for acquisition. Sometimes people with forced acquisition (“Dokhol”) try to sell these lands as authentic Khatiyan cleared lands.  The information on the condition of the land can also be found in the DC office upon payment of a small government fee. Any land which falls in any of the categories above should be strictly avoided. Read More: Is Sanchayapatra a Good Investment in 2023? DAG DAG is the land office registry of the area of land under the ownership of the record of rights. A potential buyer should crosscheck the DAG measurement mentioned in the records with the actual property space. Legal Issues The property should also be crosschecked to see whether there are any ongoing legal issues with the land or not. If there is a building on the said land, documents of construction and permits of the building should also be checked to see whether they meet the regulations or not. Transferable Duties There are several costs associated with the transfer of the property. First of all, the non-encumbrance certificate should be obtained as the primary preamble to start the process of handing over the property. Read More: Investment: What Factors to Consider before Investing Money? After that, a legal stamp should be signed outlining the handing over of the property. This stamp is usually valued at 3% of the property valuation. Then the property has to be registered under the new owner in the sub-registry office. To make sure there are no future issues with the transfer, the Khatiyan, Porcha, and sales deed should be updated as soon as possible. This will help to ensure that there won’t be any legal troubles when the land is sold again.  Final Words Land ownership is not a straightforward process. There can be issues with ownership defrauding, inability to transfer, and litigations. Thankfully, there are also steps to properly check for information before purchasing any piece of land. While these processes of investigation may be cumbersome and often require fees, it is still recommended to absolutely check for their authenticity before purchasing any land. Read More: Investment Guide: How Bangladeshi Youths Can Invest money and Create Wealth?

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday offered land for increased investment from Saudi Arabia in the country's Special Economic Zone (SEZ). She also invited Saudi Arabia to set up an oil refinery in Bangladesh where all kinds of oil including crude can be refined. The premier made the offers when a nine-member delegation led by visiting Saudi Minister of Commerce Dr Majeed bin Abdullah Alkussabi met her at Ganabhaban here this evening PM's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed reporters after the meeting. During the meeting, the PM discussed with the Saudi minister about the enhancement of businesses of both the countries for mutual interest. The Saudi minister said key investors of his country are keen to invest in Bangladesh, particularly in renewable energy sector, according to the press secretary. In this context, he urged the prime minister to ease the investment proceess in Bangladesh by addressing the brueacratic delays. The prime minister, in reply, said she has already asked the officials concenned to take required measures to simplify and quicken the invement process, said the press secretary. The PM said there are huge markets in the neighboiring countries, adding that her government has been working to ease the transportion of goods by setting up connectivity on all the modes, including the waterways. Read more: PM to inaugurate Bangladesh Business Summit on Saturday The premier said the government has taken measures in dredging the rivers to enhance their navigability through the wayerways. She said her government wants to build an Arabic Language Institute to facilitate Bangladeshi workers to know the language well before going to Saudi Arabia so they can easily communicate with Arabic speaking people. She said her country is eagerly waiting to receive the KSA Crown Prince when the Saudi minister said their Crown Prince is intetested to visit Bangladesh. The Saudi minister invited the PM Hasina to visit Saudi Arabia to perform the Umrah. The Saudi minister highly praised Bangladesh's remarlable progress and development under the dynamic leadership of PM Sheikh Hasina. The premier also appreciated the fast development of Saudib Arabia. Talking about Rohingya crisis, the KSA minister described Hasina as the Mother of Humanity. KSA minister Dr Majeed said there are enormous potential of Saudi investment in Bangladesh, noting "We can share our experience in the field of business with Bangladesh." He said in the last 10 months as many as 6.50 lakh Bangladeshi went to Saudi Arabia with jobs. PM's Private Industry and Investment Affairs Adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman, Principal Secretary M Tofazzel Hossain Miah and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to Bangladesh Essa bin Yousef Al Duhailan were present during the meeting.

A 30-year-old man was killed, and 11 others were injured in clashes between two groups of locals over a land dispute at the Chargolgolia area of Sirajdikhan upazila Friday, police said. The deceased was identified as Falan Mia of Chargolgolia. Mizanul Haque, officer-in-charge (OC) of Sirajdikhan Police Station, said two groups of locals, followers of Yeakub Mia and Joynal Mia, clashed sporadically with sharp weapons in the afternoon. "The clashes over possession of land left several people injured."  The injured were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) and different local hospitals. Falan, a follower of Yeakub, was declared dead at DMCH. Additional police forces have been deployed in the area to bring the situation under control, the OC said.  

Chapainawabganj, Feb 02 (UNB)-A man was killed allegedly by his elder brother over land dispute on Thursday morning at Shiala Gabtola in Chapainawabganj municipality. The deceased was identified as Golam Morshed, 40, son of Golam Mostafa, a resident of Gabtola area of Chapainawabganj. Morshed’s elder brother advocate Elias Hossain went into hiding after the incident. AKM Alamgir Jahan, Officer-in-Charge of Chapainawabganj Sadar Police Station, said that Morshed had a dispute with his elder brother Elias Hossain for a long time over ownership of land and family issues. As a sequel to the enmity, Elias cut Morshed’s throat with a sharp weapon and fled home on Thursday morning, leaving Morshed dead on the spot, the OC added. On information, police recovered the body and sent it to Chapai nawabganj 250-bed hospital for autopsy.

At least 15 villagers including three women were injured in a fight centring a land dispute in Sadar upazila of the district Monday, police said. The injured were identified as Yakub, 30, Ershad, 28, Hossain Ali, 65, Ismail, 37, Nur Nabi, 70, Abdul Jalil, 43, Abdul Khalil, 42, Shafiqul, 35, Jasim, 23, Sahida Begum, 60, Khoteja, 60, Hafsa, 26, Khadem Ali, 70, Meher Ali, 42 and Abu Sufian, 28.   Three of them were admitted at Rangpur Medical College Hospital for better treatment while the rest were being treated at Kurigram General Hospital. Locals said there had long been a dispute over the ownership of a piece of land between two people—Khadem Ali and Nur Nabi in the Masterrerhat area. Read more: Six injured in clash between transport workers in the capital An altercation broke out when Nabi barred Khadem Ali from planting paddy saplings on the disputed land on Monday morning. At one stage of the altercation, supporters from the both sides engaged in a clash with lethal weapons and sticks leaving at least 15 people critically wounded. Khan Md Shahriar, officer-in-charge of Sadar police station, said the dispute between the groups over the land has been going on for one and a half decades.  Though the groups are called to the police station to settle from time to time, one or other of the groups always remains missing, he said, adding that no one has so far lodged a complaint in connection with Monday's clash. Legal actions will be taken against the accused once complaints are placed, the OC added. 

Two cousins were killed during a clash over a land dispute at Charghat upazila in Rajshahi on Saturday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Azizur Rahman alias Aziz, 45, son of Dedar Hossain, and his paternal cousin Akram Hossain, 60, son of Jeker Hossain from Bankra Paschimpara village in the upazila. A clash with locally made sharp arms began on Saturday afternoon over a land dispute and more people from the both groups joined later, said Pranab Kumar, Senior Assistant Superintendent of police (Charghat circle). Read more: Habiganj housewife's throat slit over property dispute Eight people from both groups were injured in the clash and were taken to upazila health complex where the duty doctor declared Aziz and Akram dead. “The bodies have been sent for autopsy while other injured are being treated at the hospital, '' said ASP Pranab Kumar. He said police have visited the area to take control of the situation and legal actions will be taken in this reagard.

The government plans to bring all land-related services under automation through 18 integrated software in a bid to the make age-old system more dynamic and transparent and user-friendly. The planned land automation management will create an interoperable land database providing fast and hassle-free online services such as Namjari, giving land development tax, collecting Porcha across the country, according to an official document obtained by UNB. To this end, three projects have been taken so far. The projects are- Strengthening governance management project (Component- B: Digital Land Management System), Digital land record, Survey and Maintenance project, and National Land Zoning project. Read: Seminar on land management held at IU Besides, to protect the arable land and to ensure food security there will be Mouza and plot based national digital land zoning. As per the document, after completion of digital zoning depending of the usage of land it would be possible to take decision on protecting agricultural land of the country and its maximum utilisation. The government has also taken move to bring all cases of the revenue courts under one integrated networking system to accelerate case disposal and mitigate public sufferings. The project titled "Land Management Automation" that got Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approval is scheduled to end in June 2025, and its cost has been estimated at Tk 1,197.0318 crore. Read Govt to spend Tk 4,167cr on 10 projects, Ecnec gives nod According to the officials people would get land mutation, lease, and tax payment facilities online without hassle after completion of the project apart from bringing transparency in revenue collection. About 5,247 land offices will be connected online to provide services to people. Once the project is properly implemented, the number of land-related disputes and other incidents will be reduced significantly. It would also reduce the influence of middlemen in land related cases. The ministry of land will implement the mouza- and plot-based national digital land-zoning project. The project will cover some 56,348 mouzas under 4,562 unions of 493 upazilas in all the 64 districts of the country. Read Ecnec rejects Tk 17,290-cr primary school meal project Satellite images will be used for this digital land-zoning, while mouza maps will also be digitalized. According to the project proposal, it will ensure collection, scanning, digitization, database creation, editing plot checking, geo-referencing mouza map, matching of mouza map, and field checking of some 1,38,412 sheets of maps. In most countries, people get all land-related services, including that for land records and registrations, from a single office. But in Bangladesh, three offices provide the services that cause sufferings to people and kill huge time. The present method of land recording in land management and registration offices follow the age-old system of hand-written documents. Read: Russia to help Bangladesh in land management Bangladesh's land has been divided in terms of authorisation, which continues to pose a problem.

A 35-year-old man was killed by his cousin over a longstanding land dispute in Khulna's Terokhada upazila on Wednesday.