Vested property case: Prime Minister's goodwill hostage to district administration

Dulal Krishna Banik, a resident of Madaripur town, filed a case in the tribunal seeking the return of 39th century land in four spots under the Assigned Finance Act. After the verdict of the tribunal in 2018, he filed a written appeal with the district administration seeking the return of the property.

Then the district administration wrote a letter to the state advocate seeking an opinion. In the counter letter, the lawyer told the district prosecution that there is no chance of appeal in this case. Therefore, he gave an opinion to the person who got the verdict to explain the agriculture.

Dulal Krishna said that despite the opinion of the lawyer, the district administration is not explaining the land to me. Complaining against Additional District Commissioner Chhotan Chandan, he said, "Whenever I contacted him, he said various things. At one stage, it is said that the administration will apply, and it is being rotated day after day. He asked questions and said that the application law is being violated within 45 days, where can I seek remedy?

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It is known that till now, 64 thousand applications have been received in 21 districts of the country under the Transfer of Property Act. 26 thousand have been settled inside it. 54 parts of the application appeal have been disposed of. Only 548 i.e. 19 parts of the final settled 2 thousand 768 applications have been handed over to the legitimate claimants by the district administration. According to the State Accounts, the vested property across the country is estimated at 2 lakh acres. But Hindu Buddhist Christian Ekta Parishad leaders say the amount of such land is almost three times higher than the official estimate.

The leaders of Oikya Parishad said that six amendments have been brought in 2011-12 and 2013 after making provision for return of assigned property in 2001. Tribunals and Appellate Tribunals are constituted in each district for cases. According to the provisions, it is mandatory to apply within 45 days of the judgment. The judgment of the Appellate Tribunal is final. The law also mentions that the land should be handed over to the district administration within 45 days of the verdict.

Alleged by the leaders of the council, the trial in the tribunal has started after the law was made in terms of political will. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has no lack of goodwill in this regard; Despite this, the district administration and bureaucrats are acting as a real obstacle to the implementation of the law, the complainant said. In other words, the goodwill of the Prime Minister is held hostage by the district administration.

21 District Vested Property Act cases

A. A total of 64 thousand 73 applications were filed in the tribunals of 21 districts to get back the property under the Restitution Act. 26 thousand 123 have been settled. 40 parts of the application have been decided by the tribunal.

b. Out of more than 26,000 applications disposed of by the Tribunal, 5,094 Appellate Tribunal applications have been filed. That is, 19% of those aggrieved by the tribunal's verdict appealed to the appellate tribunal. The best reason for this is that most of the cases under the Vested Property Act in the 21 District applied for the return of riches. However, the tribunal's verdict went against them.

According to Oikya Parishad, the deadline for filing an appeal against the tribunal's verdict is 45 days. In more than half of the cases, when the verdict of the tribunal goes against the government, the district administration chooses to delay the appeal without appealing within the stipulated time. As a result, repatriation within the stipulated time frame is getting delayed.

2 thousand 768 out of 5 thousand 94 applications have been settled in 'B' Appellate Tribunal. That is, 54 parts of the appeal have been settled. However, out of 2 thousand 768 applications settled by the Appellate Tribunal, only 548 i.e. 19 parts of the property have been transferred from the district administration.

When asked about this, member of the presidium of Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, Kajal Debnath told Kalbela that the unfortunate reality of the statistics of 21 districts is that the district administration is delaying the deadline for years without filing an appeal, even if the decision is against the government. On the other hand, although there is an obligation to return the funds within 45 days of the final judgment of the Appellate Tribunal, the implementation is being unnecessarily delayed by giving various excuses. He also thinks that the victims are being deprived of the benefits of the law.

Kajal Debnath said that people are suffering day by day due to the bureaucracy and the manipulation of the ministry. After the court verdict, the victims are being turned into examples, as well as the offensive comments from the district administration, which is really sad. However, we are confident that the prime minister's will is said to be 100 percent in making provisions and implementing the rules. Despite this, the common people are not getting the benefits of the rules due to the district administration.

Supreme Court lawyer ZI Khan Panna told Kalbela about the district administration's failure to convey the land to the owners in violation of the law that there are many complaints due to the district administration's failure to convey the agricultural land to the legitimate claimants despite the verdict. This results in the target of the rule not being fully successful. The good intentions of the government are also being disrupted.

Demanding the implementation of the court verdict by the district administration according to the rules, he said, if the district administration continues to rotate the legitimate claimants in this way by not explaining the land, then the court will have to file a contempt case. If the victims file a contempt of court case, then the district administration is bound to answer to the court.

When asked to know, human rights leader Khushi Kabir told Kalbela that the law was made according to the good will of the Prime Minister. Tribunal for return of vested property. But the district administration is not obeying the verdict. Land does not explain. Questioning whether they are above the law and liability, he said, after 23-03-1974, no property can be declared newly vested, yet it was seen that the DCs later recorded a lot of opulence in the Act.

He said that although there is political will to return the property, the local administration wants to control everything in their own hands and even show power. They are showing thumbs up to the court by not implementing the verdict, they are also ignoring the political commitment of the government. If this situation continues, it will be really worrying to take the country on the right track.

Udbhasit Sarkar, the victim of Faridpur, told Kalbela that we have filed 38 cases under the Fiscal Act entrusted to three brothers and mother. Of these, 23 cases have been finalized, but five cases have been settled. Implementation of the remaining judgments is rotating over 3 to 6 years. He said that the Deputy Commissioner and Aceland had to travel day after day to implement the verdict of several cases, he said, various ways are being delayed. Despite this, adequate institutions of the state have been prepared in the land entrusted to us.

According to Faridpur district administration sources, 2 thousand 326 cases have been registered under this law in nine upazilas till August 28 of last year. Among them, 1 thousand 96 were in favor of the state, 552 were against. The number of pending cases is said to be 678.

Nitish Kunda, son of Nimai Kunda of Jhenaidah, told Kalbela that my father filed a case under the Transferred Property Act to get back the 3 acres of 14th century land. After the verdict of 17, I appealed to the District Commissioner for refund. The ADC-Revenue in charge at that time pressed my father and said, 'I will not return the property. You will die, your son will die; But I will not get the property. Hindu DC is there and complain. Complain and take the pillow.'' We still haven't got the land back.

Oikya Parishad leaders said that according to the judgment of the Supreme Court, any property declared as vested property after March 23, 1974 will no longer be vested. Vested wealth Act 1st page of the gazette used to mention the date when the wealth was declared as vested.

At one point the issue of 23-03-1974 was hidden and the column of this date was given in the next gazette due to the maneuvering of the bureaucrats. As a result, the victims are not getting the full benefit of the law. Also taking time to get the land allotment records.