Dhaka Launches Pilot Project to Digitize Land Records for Rural Farmers

The Bangladeshi government has initiated a pilot project in three upazilas of Dhaka division to digitize land records, aiming to reduce disputes and improve access for rural farmers. The project, launched on Monday by the Ministry of Land, will cover approximately 200,000 plots in the districts of Gazipur, Narsingdi, and Manikganj over the next six months.

According to officials, the digitization process involves scanning and indexing paper-based records dating back to the British colonial era, which are often damaged or illegible. The new digital system will allow farmers to view their land documents online through local union parishad offices or via a mobile app being developed by the Bangladesh Computer Council.

“This is a crucial step toward ensuring transparency in land ownership,” said Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury during the inauguration ceremony in Dhaka. “Many small farmers lose their land due to lost or forged documents. By digitizing records, we can help them secure their rights.”

The initiative is part of a broader national plan to digitize all land records by 2030, supported by a $50 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. Currently, Bangladesh has over 30 million land records, many of which are stored in district registrar offices prone to fires and floods.

Local farmers expressed cautious optimism. “I have been fighting a court case over my father’s land for 10 years because the original deed was lost,” said Abdul Karim, a 55-year-old farmer from Manikganj. “If this system works, my children won’t have to suffer the same.”

However, experts warn that the project faces significant challenges, including limited internet connectivity in rural areas and resistance from local land brokers who profit from record-keeping confusion. The government has pledged to train 1,000 local volunteers to help farmers access the digital system.

The pilot will be evaluated after six months, with plans to expand to all 64 districts if successful. Similar initiatives in India and Kenya have reduced land disputes by up to 40 percent, according to World Bank studies.

In related news, the Bangladesh Land Survey Department announced that it will begin using drones to map disputed border areas in the Chittagong Hill Tracts next month, aiming to resolve long-standing boundary conflicts between indigenous communities and settlers.

Meanwhile, international experts from the United Nations Development Programme will visit Dhaka next week to advise on data security measures for the digitized land records. The government is also considering blockchain technology to prevent tampering with land titles.

For now, the focus remains on the three pilot upazilas, where field workers are already moving from village to village, photographing documents and interviewing landowners. “This is a massive undertaking, but it is essential for the future of Bangladesh’s rural economy,” said project coordinator Farzana Hossain. “We are starting small to learn and adapt before scaling up.”