Reza Mahmud :
Unplanned use of agricultural lands of the country for making home, industrial purposes and urbanising are making sharp decline of crops land and creating massive threat on national food security, experts said.
Though there is a plan of government for protecting arable lands since 2011, it has not get a final shape in the last 10 years, they said.
According to official statistics, the total lands of Bangladesh is three crore 57 lakh 63 thousand acres.
Of them, the total cultivable land is 2 crore 1 lakh 57 thousand acres.
As per the Bureau of Statistics and the Department of Agriculture, about onepercent arable lands are declining every year due to non-agricultural use.
In this way, agricultural land in the country is declining by 6,700 hectares (16,549 acres) every year, or one percent per year.
As a result, about 20 lakh tonnes of food producing also are decreasing annually, sources said.
Experts said, there is no strong monitoring of government departments for protecting arable lands.
They said it was surprising for them that an agro based country like Bangladesh has no arable land protecting law and devastating its most valuable crops land without hesitation.
Experts said, Arabian countries are digging artificial canals for pumping water to desert for growing crops.
Vietnam has constructed flyovers for vehicular movement from one city to another for protecting their arable lands.
Bangladesh, however, has made plans to regain arable lands from different areas of the bay of Bangle.
But the illegal use of arable lands have not get any heed, experts expressed frustrations.
When contacted, Md. Mustafizur Rahman, Secretary of the Ministry of Land told The New Nation, “There is no law yet about using lands in Bangladesh. We are trying to enact a law named ‘Protection and Usage of Agricultural Land Act’ in this regard. The work of preparing the act is near to completion.”
The Secretary said, many laws and policies will be merged in the upcoming land using law.
“The remaining eight to 10 laws and policies including brick klin control law, water bodies leasing policies, law of Khas lands and similar others will be merged in the upcoming law. It will be a strong and effectual law to protect lands from being misusing,” the Land Secretary said.
When contacted, Dr. Adil Mohammed Khan, Associate Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning also General Secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners told The New Nation on Sunday, “Protection and Usage of Agricultural Land Act has not been finalised in many years, it is pathetic. But, administrations have to monitor strictly as per the remaining laws to protect arable lands.”
He said, many agro lands now become homes, or brick kilns or mills. It is totally frustrating matter.
“The most valuable wealth of the agricultural based country is declining day by day only for not having a law and not enforcing of the remaining laws,” Dr. Adil said.
He said, if we waste time further more for passing the new law, enormous amount of valuable agricultural lands would be devastated in the meantime.
