Bandarban, August 4 (bdnews24.com)— Lack of proper documentation is the major hurdle to resolve decades-long land disputes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, chairman of the CHT Land Commission said on Wednesday.
"The main problem in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is no proper documentation of land ownership," retired justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury told reporters after a meeting of the commission on collection of land data at the Bandarban Circuit House.
"There are no proper boundaries either. These difficulties have kept alive the land disputes in the region," said Chowdhury.
He said the first step to resolution would be land surveys. "If this is done, then most of work will be done," he said.
He said the surveys would kick off very soon.
Chowdhury, chairing a historic first meeting of the commission on Tuesday, had said the commission's work would focus on rehabilitation of indigenous refugees returning from India and the internally displaced population.
Chowdhury also said existing land laws would be amended if necessary to resolve land disputes in the region.
But, he said, more manpower was needed as only two members of the 13-member commission had been appointed so far.
The CHT Land Commission convened for the first time on Tuesday, eight years after its first inception, at the Khagrachhari Circuit House.
The Land Commission was originally formed in 2001 in line with the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, but never got off the ground due lack of funds and manpower.
The Bangladesh government signed the peace accord with Pabatya Chattagram Janasanghati Saminit (PCJSS) in 1997 to end two decades of insurgency and establish permanent peace in the region.
As part of the accord, the government pledged to pull out army troops in phases and resolve land disputes in the three hill districts.
Troubles began in the region after indigenous communities, led by Chakma leaders, took up arms in the 1970s in protest against the government of a newly independent Bangladesh for its "inaction" over key demands.
The demands included decommissioning the Kaptai hydroelectric project and restoration of land rights. The Kaptai Lake, built in the 1960s, inundated the palace of the Chakma King and vast tracts of land displacing thousands of people.
Large numbers also fled across the border to India for safety during the two decades of insurgency following the army's deployment in the region.
The AL government, after coming back to power in January, vowed to revive the long-dormant CHT Land Commission to fully implement the peace accord it signed in 1997.
"The Awami League government closed the peace deal. The same government will do everything possible for the implementation of the accord," law minister Shafique Ahmed said back in February.
AL reactivated the commission by appointing a chairman and two members in July, but has yet to constitute the full 13-member commission in line with the accord.
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