The government’s Land Management Automation Project, launched in 2020 at Tk1,174 crore, was intended to simplify digital land services and allow citizens to access them from home, but widespread errors in uploaded records have left landowners facing confusion and compelled to revisit land offices, often resorting to unofficial payments to resolve problems.

A visit to Bhumi Bhaban in Tejgaon on 11 August found large crowds waiting with tokens at the Land Service Customer Care Centre to correct mistakes in survey khatiyans, mutations and holding numbers.

Among the number of victims, Anwar Hossain, who came from Lalmonirhat, told the Daily Sun that his family’s 0.19 acres of land in Seikh Sundar mouza of Hatibandha had been correctly mutated before digitalisation, with khatiyan number 550 and holding number 743.

However, when records were uploaded in 2023, the ministry mistakenly listed khatiyan numbers 551 and 1156, showing ownership of 3.59 acres instead.

Since then, Anwar has been running between the union land office, the AC Land office, and the deputy commissioner’s office to correct the error, but all have responded in writing that they lack the authority to fix it. Official letters seen by the Daily Sun confirm this.

Anwar added that when he opened an online account to pay land development tax, six holdings were listed against his land, along with 164 additional holdings belonging to others across 14 mouzas, including Madhya Goddimari, Purba Sardubi, Ramaniganj and Dolapara.

“I have been trying for months, but nothing is corrected,” he said.

Another landowner, Rakib Hossain (name changed), said he opened an account to pay taxes on his family’s land in Shariatpur’s Palerchar area. Despite uploading khatiyans of his father, mother and brother, the system mistakenly listed him as the sole owner in official receipts.

“I paid the taxes online, but the records say the land belongs only to me,” he said.

In Dhaka, a youth at the Gulshan land office said he opened an account a month earlier to pay land tax but was still waiting for a holding number.

“If we still have to come to land offices, what is the benefit of digitalisation?” he asked.

Supreme Court lawyer Istiak Ahmed told the Daily Sun that mistakes in mutation khatiyans could cause serious complications during land transfers.

“If additional land is mutated in someone’s name, the receiver may not face trouble, but the real owner of that land will suffer when trying to sell,” he said, noting that such errors can be corrected through a miss-case procedure.

Advocate Taufiq Anwar Chowdhury, another Supreme Court lawyer, said the errors could be either clerical or intentional.

Stressing that the government must prevent both types and ensure corrections are made promptly and without harassment, he said, “If intentional errors are found, action should be taken.”

“What is the benefit of digitalisation if one still has to chase land offices to fix mistakes?” he asked.

When contacted, the assistant land officer at the Gulshan office admitted delays, saying they process a large number of applications daily.

Md Parvez Hasan, project director of the Land Management Project, said he could not explain how the errors occurred.

“If a specific case is placed before us, then we can investigate,” he said.

The Land Management Automation Project, originally scheduled to end in June 2025, has now been extended until June 2026.

The reporter can be reached at: [email protected]