Recent reports have pretty much established the fact that land expropriation is going on in a planned way across the country. It is also true that the steps taken so far to counter the illegal business have not been particularly effective due largely to lack of concerted and determined efforts on the part of the government agencies concerned.

Obviously the elements that could make a sustained drive against illegal occupation of land successful were missing. The secretaries' meeting addressed by the Prime Minister underscored the necessity for stringent laws and formation of a broad-based national monitoring committee. It also exuded a realisation that the problem cannot be handled by a single ministry. A collaborative approach with the participation of all the line ministries concerned is the need of the hour.

There is no alternative to the pure law and order approach in dealing with the land grabbers. The housing minister has given a call for social movement against the encroachers. We believe a social movement is already on, particularly in the environment-related cases. People are taking a stand against occupation of land that ignores the environmental needs. So the government's job is to respond to the popular voice.

Finance and Planning Minister Saifur Rahman has very rightly said that the first task is to determine the extent of the damage, that is, to find out how much land has slipped out of government's possession.

Theoretically speaking, there is no dearth of right thinking. But the biggest challenge before the government is to recover the land already expropriated by the grabbers. The practical bottlenecks are many, as in most of the cases the grabbers have managed to collect or frame forged documents in support of their ownership. It is going to be a long-drawn legal battle, but the outcome is bound to be positive if the matter is pursued till the end with grit and determination.

Above all, political will is needed to put an end to land grabbing. The will must be strong enough to overcome the clout of the land grabbers, many of whom have political connections and are capable of putting up resistance through pressure lobbies.