Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumder today said 44 water bodies in Patuakhali district are not eligible for any lease.

“Water bodies are an important natural resource for the rural economy, biodiversity and livelihood of the poor people of Bangladesh . . .  The water bodies  - rivers, haors, baors, beels and canals - are not only a source of fish production; rather, these are closely related to the agriculture, food security, employment and ecological balance of locals,” he told a meeting here.

The adviser was speaking at the 88th meeting of the ‘Committee on Leasing Government Water Reservoirs for Development Projects’ chaired by Ministry’s Senior Secretary ASM Saleh Ahmed at the meeting room of the ministry.

He said the water of these water bodies in Patuakhali is flowing and has sluice gates and dams also. 

The District Commissioner (DC) and Upazila Executive Officers (UNOs) will supervise those water bodies so that the dams remain well-controlled, he hoped.

The adviser said as these water bodies are not under lease, water of these natural water bodies are used for fishing and irrigation and no muscle power will be allowed in this case.

“The water bodies are not any private property, those belong to the people. Therefore, for the sake of public interest, environmental protection and livelihood of the poor, the state must stop the water bodies leasing system and move towards a humane, fair and sustainable management,” he mentioned. 

The adviser categorically said this process will be monitored for the next three years to see whether its objectives are being implemented properly. On the contrary, he said if there is any disruption, a new decision will be taken in this regard subsequently.

There are a total of 148 water bodies in the district, in the meantime a case was filed involving 44 water bodies, which are not eligible for lease in the public interest. Of those, some 94 are in the process of being leased while the lease of nine others is going on.

Additional Secretary (Administration) Md. Raihan Kawsar, Additional Secretary (Development) Md. Emdadul Haque Chowdhury, representatives of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, representatives of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and senior officials of the Ministry of Land were present in the meeting.

The Deputy Commissioner and Divisional Commissioner of the concerned district were connected online, said a release this afternoon.

Later, a meeting was held in the meeting room on the 'Haor and Wetland Conservation Act'.

Water Resources Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Primary Mass Education Adviser Prof Dr. Bidhan Ranjan Roy Poddar were present in the meeting.