By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh’s parliament will amend the law for restoring property seized from minority groups, mainly Hindus, a minister said here Tuesday.
A bill, approved by the cabinet last November, will be passed during the ongoing session of parliament, Star Online quoted State Minister for Land Mustafizur Rahman as saying.
A five-member committee will be formed at district and upazila (sub-district) levels to settle the land related problems. The ministry will also set up a tribunal to settle the matters, he said.
Rahman was speaking at a roundtable organised by Jatiya Adibashi Parishad (National Indigenous Council) and Gram Bikash Kendra.
In November last year, the cabinet approved the Vested Property Return (Amendment) Act under which properties of the minority community members are to be returned to them.
Before the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, it was known as the Enemy Property Act and is still referred to as such in common parlance.
The act is criticised as a tool for appropriating the lands of the minority population.
The government had declared as “enemy property” the land and property abandoned by Hindus following the 1965 India-Pakistan war.