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Govt to curb revenue loss with digital land valuation
►►Land ownership certificate also planned to modernise land management ►► Saleable land in Chattogram hill districts to be digitised
The government has moved to introduce a Land Valuation System (LVS) to stop revenue losses from under-declared land prices, and a Certificate of Land Ownership (CLO) to modernise land management.
It will also bring saleable land in the Chattogram hill districts under digitalisation.
The Ministry of Land has approved the initiatives in principle, Deputy Secretary (Digitalisation, Knowledge Management and Performance) Sadequr Rahman confirmed to the Daily Sun.
The ministry will soon launch a project, with South Korea’s assistance, to implement one of the initiatives, while software will be developed for digitising hill land records, he said.
Land Valuation System
The LVS is a digital public service meant to end the widespread practice of registering land at mouza rates instead of market prices, which deprives the state of substantial revenue.
“In most cases, land is registered at the mouza rate instead of the market price,” Sadequr Rahman said. “The LVS has been decided to be introduced to end the malpractice.”
According to the ministry, the system will determine land values on the basis of location, classification, use and other relevant information.
This will help establish market value in land transfers, assess land development tax, guide land acquisition and inform other government decisions on land. Using cadastral data and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the system is expected to increase land revenue and promote transparency, accuracy, accountability and good governance, the officer said.
South Korea will provide financial and technical assistance for the LVS project.
Certificate of Land Ownership
Alongside the LVS, the ministry has decided in principle to begin work on the CLO.
It aims to build a modern and reliable ownership management system by integrating information such as the current khatian (record of rights), mutation records and registered deeds, and to provide proof of ownership through a certificate.
Chattogram Hill Tracts
Based on the boundaries (chauhaddi) of saleable land, and through headmen, and subject to no-objection from the Hill District Councils, the following will be digitised: land registration, mutation (namjari), the tauzi book and the data exchange process. The current system will not be altered in any way.
Under the Land Management Automation Project, software will be developed to digitise land management in the hill districts.