AC Land's efforts to make it dynamic and corruption-free

When the common and innocent people throughout the country have been facing troubles in getting service from the government office due to alleged corruption and malpractice by some corrupt and dishonest employees, the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Land in Dumuria upazila has set up an instance standing by the innocent people to ensure adequate services in a hassle-free condition.

The office which was in a pitiable condition and the files were kept here and there on the floor of the office, the people providing services in narrow space, was turned to a gorgeous and well decorated workplace with the touch of some one's magic hand within a few months.The attractive AC land office at the Dumuria upazila in Khulna is enriched with modern equipments and furnishers. The files are kept in the racks line by line.

When this correspondent visited the office on Thursday witnessed that an office assistant was working at the front desk at the balcony and giving patient hearing to a man rushed for his land related activities.

AC (Land) Dr. Sanjib Das, an MBBS from Dhaka Medical College, has served in BCS (Health) Cadre; and ultimately left to join BCS (Administration) cadre. He joined DumuriaUpazila Land Office as AC Land on August 25 last year.

Within just four months, he dramatically changed the image of the land office services. Where previously positive case settlement rate was less than 25-30%;At present, the rate is close to 75%. The service of the land office has been made visible, service-oriented and corruption-free through public hearing.

The on-spot review depicts that on every Wednesday, the weekly public hearing day, office compound of the AC (Land) office gets crowded with more than 100 people from early morning.

The handicapped Kanan Bala came from Magurkhali, far away from upazila headquarter. She badly needed to sell a piece of land urgently for the purpose of treatment of her husband who is a patient of cardiac disease.

But without mutation, registration cannot be done. As she had poor knowledge about the official procedure of mutation, she communicated with a broker; but didn't get any remedy. Later she heard from the public that if she could participate in public hearing, AC(Land) sir would make her job done instantly.

With this belief, she came to AC Land office by 7 am sharp to take a serial for public hearing. As soon as the hearing was over, her case was approved and DCR &Khatian were delivered at once. She did not even pay a penny but out of the government fixed fees. She is very happy with the services of the land office.

When asked, AC (Land) Mr. Sanjib Das told, as per the direction of Mr. Mohammad Helal Hossain, Deputy Commissioner and learned District Magistrate, Khulna, he started public hearing from dawn to dusk once a week under the supervision of Mr. Sarwar Ahmed Salehin, Additional Deputy Commissioner(Revenue),Khulna and Mrs. Shahnaz Begum, UNO, Dumuria from  December 4 last year.

In the last one and half months, a total of 297 mutation cases have been disposed in just five days of public hearing. Besides, VP renewal, review cases and miscellaneous case hearings have been taken and disposed of depending on the status. A total no of 496 people have received different services on just those five days.Besides, the service is being provided to the recipients on other days of the week as per the expectation of service-seekers.

He also said that he has launched 'One-Stop Service' under the guidance of the Deputy Commissioner. He ensures the presence of Nazir and other supporting staffs on the public hearing day with a view to making sure that the service-recipients need not to pay a single penny beyond the stipulated government fees.

AC (Land) Sanjib Das expressed his firm commitment to make the Dumuria upazila Land Office and the Union Land Offices under it 'dynamic, pro-people and absolutely corruption-free' within the coming 'Mujib year i.e centenary of the birth of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

---Sk mahtab hossain, Dumuria