Digital land management sparks fear of loss

The indigenous and Dalit people of Rajshahi division may lose land during the upcoming digital land record management due to their ignorance and administrative complexities, Adivasi leaders told a meeting in Rajshahi city yesterday, asking for preventive measures by the government.

Reading out the keynote paper, Chitta Ranjan Sardar, convener of the Rajshahi chapter of Human Rights Defenders Foundation, said the indigenous people were unwilling to update their land documents including mutation papers because of harassment by land officials.

“If they can't update the documents, they might lose land during the survey,” he told the programme at Swapnil Community Centre, organised by Adivasi Sangskritik Unnayan Sangstha (ASUS) with support from the European Union and Oxfam.

The indigenous people have deeds, mutation certificates, and other papers, yet they are losing land out to the grabbers who are forging their land documents with assistance from government officials, said Anil Marandi, presidium member of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad.

The land survey and digitisation of the records are scheduled to start in June.

Speaking as chief guest, Shyam Kishore Roy, the divisional commissioner of land reform in Rajshahi, assured that the government would watch that the minority communities could update their land records without being overcharged.

He, however, called upon the NGOs to create awareness among Adivasis about preserving updated land records for safety of their land.

According to ASUS Executive Director Rajkumar Shaw, 1.5 lakh indigenous people of 20 communities live in Rajshahi district, and most of them suffer due to land-related problems.

Referring to the incidents of eviction, grabbing of graveyards, property, murder, and rape, he said the indigenous people barely got support from the administration in these incidents.

The speakers reiterated a nine-point demand including establishing a separate land commission for plain land Adivasis and a national commission for indigenous affairs, and keeping representatives of the communities in the land survey.