Land Minister Md Rezaul Karim Hira Sunday came down heavily on land registration officers for dereliction of duties after seeing the plight of the service seekers at two land offices in the city, officials said.
The minister paid surprise visits to land offices at Dhanmondi and Mirpur at noon and expressed his dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in both the key government offices.
Mr Hira spoke to the supplicants, who gave him a litany of complaints on the hassles they go through at these offices, a ministry official quoted the minister as saying.
The unannounced visits came after the minister received complaints about the harassment people endure when they go to land offices across the country to register land or for settlement of purchase or sale of real estate.
"The minister has found the veracity of many of the complaints. So, he has urged the on-duty assistant commissioners (Land) to dispense responsibilities properly in order to ameliorate the sufferings of the people," the official said.
The minister also enquired of the problems the land offices face in providing hassle-free service to the people. He assured them of all cooperation on part of his ministry including increasing manpower and simplifying legal procedures to make their work easier.
The minister will make similar surprise visits to land offices across the country to see for himself the working environment, the official added.
Deputy Secretary Zahirul Islam accompanied the minister during his visits.
