Cabinet approves land acquisition act

The cabinet on Monday okayed the "The Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act, 2016" draft.

As per law, the compensation for land acquired by government has been raised to three times of the property`s price, reports agencies.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, approved the draft in principle.

The draft has been forwarded to the law ministry for further scrutiny before getting final approval.

Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said the compensation in the new regulation has been doubled than of the current law.

In the existing law the compensation provided by the government was one and a half times higher than market value of the land.

"It means if a property is valued at Tk 10 million, the compensation will come to Tk 30 million," he told reporters after the meeting.

Alam said a property`s value will be determined taking in consideration of an area`s average land price in the last 12 months.

The government acquires land according to an ordinance issued in 1982.

The law minister has been in charge of finalising and presenting the draft of ‘Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act’ for Cabinet approval.

Considering the law’s ‘complexity’, a committee has been formed with the land secretary and defence secretary as members.

The committee headed by the law minister may induct more members.