Khas Land Bangladesh: What It Is and How to Claim It

Khas land (খাস জমি) literally means "government's own land" — land that is vested in the government and managed by the Department of Land (Ministry of Land). In Bangladesh, it includes:

• Agricultural land that has been vested in the government after previous owners' rights were extinguished (e.g., through the Enemy Property Act, Vested Property Act, or court decree).
• Newly formed char lands (chars) arising from river accretion.
• Government forestland, beels, haors, and waterlogged areas.
• Urban government plots not yet permanently assigned.

Khas land cannot be privately owned without a formal government allotment (bandabast). Unauthorized occupation is illegal. Yet in practice, khas land is among the most encroached-upon categories of land in Bangladesh. Consult a property lawyer in Dhaka before taking any action related to khas land.

The government prioritizes khas land allotment for the most vulnerable landless households. Eligibility criteria typically include:

• Landless or near-landless rural families (possessing less than 0.5 acres of cultivable land).
• Freedom fighter families.
• Disaster-affected families who lost their home land to river erosion.
• Certain industrial or development projects may receive government khas land on lease for specific purposes.

Urban khas land allocation rules are different and typically involve government schemes or court-supervised redistribution.

The standard khas land allotment (bandabast) process:

1. Applications are submitted to the Upazila Land Office (for agricultural khas land) or the District Commissioner's office.
2. The Land Reforms Board or District Land Allotment Committee reviews applications and investigates eligibility.
3. Field survey of the khas land is conducted to confirm it is free of encumbrance and available.
4. Allotment is made by formal order (bandabast patra) granting occupancy right to the eligible family.
5. The allottee must pay nominal bandabast charges and register the allotment document.
6. The allotment creates an occupancy right — not full ownership title — which after a period of uninterrupted occupation can be converted to full ownership through further proceedings.

A particularly complex khas land situation arises with newly accreted char land formed when rivers recede. The legal rules:

• Land that was once part of a recorded plot and was lost to river erosion, then re-emerges, may be reconstituted in the name of the original owner (or their heirs) — this is called diluvion and alluvion.
• If the original recorded plot owners cannot be identified, the re-emerged land is treated as government khas land.
• In practice, newly emerged char lands attract intense illegal occupancy activity — often by politically connected individuals — before the legal situation is resolved.

Property lawyers experienced in land law can trace ownership histories and assert original owners' rights to char land before khas designation is finalized.

Khas land disputes typically take two forms:

• Challenging wrongful khas classification: Where private land has been incorrectly classified as khas through administrative error, the owner can file a petition to the Revenue Officer and ultimately to the High Court through writ jurisdiction to correct the record.
• Eviction of illegal encroachers: The government can initiate eviction proceedings against unauthorized occupiers of khas land. Private landowners whose adjacent khas land is encroached may assist the government in eviction proceedings.

Both types of disputes require a knowledgeable property lawyer familiar with land revenue procedures and Bangladesh land laws.

Khas land is not sold outright — it is allotted (bandabast) to eligible persons. An allottee receives occupancy rights, which after fulfilling conditions may be converted to full ownership title.

Yes, under the principle of diluvion and alluvion, original recorded owners (or their heirs) have rights to land that was submerged and then re-emerged at the same location. Legal proceedings to establish this right are necessary.

The district administration has authority to evict illegal occupiers without filing a court case — through administrative eviction proceedings. However, actual eviction enforcement varies significantly in practice.

An allottee with occupancy rights can transfer their interest in some cases after fulfilling conditions, but direct purchase of khas land allotments without proper legal due diligence carries enormous risk. Always verify title independently.

File a complaint with the Land Revenue Officer providing documentation of original title (CS or SA records, mutation history). If not resolved administratively, file a writ petition in the High Court Division to correct the land records.