News of irregularities and bribery in the land office is not new. Every incident reported on the ground is a story of bribery, irregularities and harassment of ordinary and marginalized people. This picture has emerged in a report titled ‘Corruption in the Service Sector: National Household Survey 2023.’
From the grassroots to the top, various land offices are like bribe markets. Ironically, despite various initiatives to keep land services corruption-free, there is no sign of abating corruption in this service sector. Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), among the service sectors, the land sector is the first among the service sectors where bribes are paid the most, right after judicial services.
According to TIB, about 51 percent of the country’s families were victims of bribery in 2023. In that year, each household had to pay a bribe of 11,776 taka for land services while availing the service. The report says, bribery is an integral part of every step, from registration of names, correction of records, removal of encroachment, or issuance of land documents. The papers are correct, the documents are correct, the ledger is in order, yet the file does not move without bribery.
This corruption is fueled by our inefficient administration, publicity stunts, and weak political will. Sometimes the media publishes something, one or two people are suspended, discussions take place for a few days, and then it doesn’t take long for things to go back to the way they were. Even though applications for Khatian or Namjari can be made online, they end up getting stuck at the door of ‘manage’. A complete digital record system must be introduced in land offices. The time and cost allocated for each service must be made public.
To prevent irregularities, it is not only the use of technology, but also needs an urgent change in mentality. Although there has been much talk for a long time about stopping all kinds of fraud and illegal financial transactions in the land offices, the response has been very little in reality. As corruption and irregularities in the land registration service-related institutions increase, there is now a risk that it will become institutionalized.
Taking bribes should not only lead to dismissal, but also to exemplary punishment. If the right of people to land is destroyed, then the deepest pillar of human trust will collapse. The sound of that destruction will not be confined to the headlines of any newspaper, but will spread to every level of society.
