The New Nation - Internet Edition

NN Correspondent

Rackets comprising of a section of the field level officials of Thana Settlement office of Alfadanga (Faridpur District) and neo-riches of the villages with both black money and muscle powers are grabbing lands and paternal homes of the poor people through forged and defrauded documentation of settlement records that are going on in the upazilla currently. Such allegations were brought against the Thana settlement officials by dozens of local people. Genuineness of facts could be established even by a single case story. The story goes as:

Because of his stay in London (UK) Mr. Gopal Chandra Biswas, a retired Deputy Secretary of the Government of Bangladesh, of Mouza Titurkandi under Tagorbandh Union could not attend the settlement official at the time of Field Survey. In his absence his homestead and another 50 holdings belonging to his forefathers for over centuries have been recorded in the names of a neo-powerful Sheikh family.

Being aggrieved Mr. Biswas lodged a formal complain to the Director General, Department Land Records and Survey on April 02, '08 demanding a relief in setting the records straight.

The DG, Land Records and Survey, then directed the Zonal Settlement office, Faridpur District to stop the survey work of Seat 1 & 2 of the concerned Mouza and to constitute a 3-member committee headed by an Assistant Settlement officer, one Settlement officer and one surveyor. Accordingly, the ZSO formed a three member committee vide Memo No. 689(6) dated 6-4-08 giving 15 days' time limit to submit reports.

Mentionable, Mr. Biswas' case is not the lone one. Similar stories run with at least 25 persons of the same village. The committee convened a meeting of the affected persons of the village at Tagorbandh Union Parisad office on April 22, '08. While the proceedings of the meeting was in progress one Abdul Mannan Sheikh - a power lord of the village - ensued altercations with the villagers and eventually attacked them physically in which one Mohammad Hafizur Rahman was seriously injured (Police Case No. 07/32 dated 22-4-08 of Alfadanga Police Station). The meeting ended in fiasco.

However, it is learnt that the said Mannan Sheikh has managed to get a secret report from the said committee upholding his earlier misdeeds. Police on the other side seems to be inactive in dealing with the perpetrators threatening law and order situation in the area.

Elders of the villages told that there are uncounted cases of similar false recording in the settlement document and unless the government takes meaningful measures in setting the records straight hundreds of poor people will be cheated and deprived of their parental lands belonging to them over the years. They also opined it might ensue prolonged social conflict amongst the families aggrieved by such land-grabbing activities for several coming decades. It may even realign the political power structure of the villages.