A Study on the Land Reforms Laws: Bangladesh in Context

Abstract

Land reform is a long-standing issue in Bangladesh, but a solution is elusive. Land reform is a widely-recognized social, political and economic objective in Bangladesh, and the Land Reforms Ordinance, 1984 was promulgated as the very first law that paved way for the reformation of lands. The word ‘land’ includes not only the face of the earth, but also everything under or over it, and has an indefinite extent upward or downward. Non-agricultural land means land used for purposes not connected with agriculture or horticulture, and does not include a homestead, land originally leased for agricultural or horticultural purposes but not used for that purpose. Land is scarce and population dense in Bangladesh, making it difficult to maximize agricultural production. Efforts to regulate tenancy rights and tackle subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings are ineffective, as they do not include measures to improve land management and crop yields. This paper will draw attention to that land reform is an imperative for Bangladesh to reduce the disparity and non-equity that exists among the people, further aggravating the survival of land and agriculture dependent masses.

Keywords: Land Ceiling, Benami Transaction, Borga Cultivation, Bargadars’ Rights.

DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/132-02

Publication date:May 31^st 2023