Land Law of Bangladesh, Notes.

 Land Law in Bangladesh, Notes.

On 12 September 1786, Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis took charge as the Governor-General of Fort William (Bengal) and as the Commander-in-Chief of British India. This edition of This Day in History gives a brief introduction about Lord Cornwallis, the major reforms introduced by him and will highlight the Third Anglo-Mysore War that took place in his tenure. Lord Cornwallis was believed to have laid the foundation of British rule throughout India and various reforms in the court, revenue and services prevailed till the end of the British era in India.

Who was Lord Cornwallis?                                                                                                                          

Lord Cornwallis - Governor-General of Bengal                                                                                        

• 1, Lord Cornwallis was a British army officer, administrator and diplomat who had previously served his country during the War of American Independence. He had surrendered along with his troops to the Americans at Yorktown.                                                                                                                                  
•  2, In 1786, he accepted the offer to take up the post of Governor-General of Bengal on a condition that he be given the supreme military command as well.                                                                                  
• 3, He arrived at Calcutta on 12 September and took charge.                                                                      
• 4, Under his guidance, the Cornwallis Code was developed which contained provisions for governing the civil, policing and judiciary administration in British India.                                    
• 5, He founded a Sanskrit College at Benaras for Hindus and this is today the Government Sanskrit College in Benares.                                                                                                                               
• 6, He also established a mint at Calcutta.

Major Reforms Introduced by Lord Cornwallis                                                                                          

Permanent Settlement                                                                                                                             

• 1, Cornwallis introduced the Permanent Settlement of land revenue in Bengal and other parts of India.                                                                                                                                                                   
•  2, Under this system, Zamindars or landlords were made the owners of the land, and the farmers were reduced to the status of tenants. The Zamindars had the right to evict the farmers at any time.                                                                                                                                                                   
• 3, The Zamindars had to pay 89% of the land revenue to the British and the remaining was for him.                                                                                                                                                                                
• 4, Under this system, land revenue was fixed for a term of ten years.                                                                                                                      
• 5, This system accelerated the drain of wealth from India to Britain.

Service Reforms                                                                                                                                                            

• 1, To reduce corruption in the country, Cornwallis was given the authority related to services offered by the East India company.                                                                                                                                     
• 2, He established rules which allowed only qualified persons to get into the services irrespective of their connections with higher authorities.                                                                                                                      
• 3, Top posts were reserved for the Europeans whereas Indians were offered lower grade posts such as Peons and clerks.                                                                                                                                                
• 4, Private trade of the company was abolished completely

Judiciary Reforms                                                                                                                                                       

• 1, Cornwallis established courts in the districts, provinces and states. The highest court was the Supreme Court of Calcutta.                                                                                                                                         
• 2, There were separate courts for civil and criminal cases.                                                                       
• 3, Cornwallis abolished court fees and then lawyers were to prescribe their fees.                                      
• 4, Government servants could be sued by people for their mistakes.                                                                   
• 5, He also banned torturous punishments like the chopping off of limbs, nose and ears.

Third Anglo-Mysore War                                                                                                                            

1, In 1790, Cornwallis declared war on Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore when the latter attacked Travancore, a British-friendly province. Tipu had also refused to release English prisoners taken during the second Anglo-Mysore War.                                                                                                                                                                                  2, After this war, Tipu Sultan had to cede large parts of his kingdom to the British. As a result, the British won Malabar, Dindigul, Baramahal and Coorg.

Second Term Cornwallis returned to England in 1793 and was replaced by Sir John Shore. He returned for a second term as Governor-General in 1805 but this time his stay was uneventful. Lord Cornwallis died of an illness at Ghazipur in 1805 and was buried there.

 Permanent Settlement,  

was a grand contract signed in 1793 between the government of the East India Company in Bengal and individual landholders of Bengal- zamindars and talukdars? Under the contract, the zamindars were admitted into the colonial state system as the absolute proprietors of landed property in Bengal. The government revenue payable to the government was fixed permanently. The rules of the permanent settlement made every individual zamindar and talukdar the permanent and absolute proprietors of the land under their control. As absolute proprietors of land, zamindars and talukdars were required to pay revenue to the government at a rate fixed permanently. But the cultivating raiyats were denied to such a privilege. The landholders were free to change the rent rate of their tenants. They even could evict their tenants if they wanted to. But if they defaulted, their lands proportionate to their default would be realized through the public sale of their land. This strong law was called the Sun-set Law.

Features of the Permanent Settlement

• Landlords or Zamindars were recognized as the owners of the land. They were given hereditary rights of succession of the lands under them.
• The Zamindars could sell or transfer the land as they wished.
• The Zamindars’ proprietorship would stay as long as he paid the fixed revenue at the said date to the government. If they failed to pay, their rights would cease to exist and the land would be auctioned off.
• The amount to be paid by the landlords was fixed. It was agreed that this would not increase in the future (permanent).
• The fixed amount was 10/11th portion of the revenue for the government and 1/10th was for the Zamindar. This tax rate was way higher than the prevailing rates in England.
• The Zamindar also had to give the tenant a patta which described the area of the land given to him and the rent he had to pay the landlord.

Merits of the Permanent Settlement

• The responsibility of taking care of farmers fell upon the shoulders of the Indian landlords. Being sons of the soil, they could reach the far corners of the region and also understand local customs very well.
• Because of the permanent nature of the system, there was a sense of security for everyone. The company knew the amount it would get in revenue. The landlord also was assured of the amount. Finally, the farmers also, in lieu of the patta were certain of their holdings and knew how much rent was to be paid.
• Since the settlement was of a permanent nature, the Zamindars would have an interest in the improvement in the land thereby improving the revenue.

Demerits of the Permanent Settlement

• The basic demerit of this system was that the efficiency depended upon the nature of the Zamindars. If they were good, the interests of the farmers and the land were looked after very well. They would make improvements in the land which would be beneficial to everyone concerned. But if the landlords were bad, they were negligent of the plight of the farmers and the conditions of the land.
• This created a class of hereditary landlords forming the upper aristocracy in society who generally led luxurious and extravagant lifestyles.
• The Zamindars were generally favorable to the British administration and supported the British even during the freedom struggle. There were exceptions.
• The land assessment was not done properly and land revenue was fixed arbitrarily. This meant that both productive and unproductive land was expected to furnish revenue at the same rates. This created a burden on the farmers of unproductive land. Also, in the case of productive land, it was a loss of revenue to the government.
• The revenue rates were so high that many Zamindars became defaulters. In time, this system proved to have disastrous effects. In 1811, the British government warned against the imposition of permanent settlement without a proper land survey.

Result of the Permanent Settlement of Bengal?                                                                                     

The Permanent Settlement of Bengal led to an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land that had far-reaching consequences for both agricultural methods and productivity in the entire British Empire.

 

 

Ans to the qus (PDR 1913)

Section. 11, Who may execute a certificate                                               

A certificate filed under section 4 or section 6 may be executed by-                                                  

• a) the Certificate-officer in whose office the original certificate is filed, or           
• (b) the Certificate-officer to whom a copy of the certificate is sent for execution under section

Section.12, Transmission of certificate to another Certificate-officer for execution            

•  (1) A Certificate-officer in whose office a certificate is filed may send a copy thereof, for execution, to any other Certificate-officer.                                             
• (2) When a copy of a certificate is sent to any such officer, he shall cause it to be filed in his office, and thereupon the provisions of section 8 with respect to certificates filed in the office of a Certificate-officer shall apply as if such copy were an original certificate:                     

Provided that it shall not be necessary to serve a second notice and copy under section 7.

Section.13, When a certificate may be executed                                                        

there is No step in the execution of a certificate shall be taken until the period of thirty days has elapsed since the date of the service of the notice required by section 7, or, when a petition has been duly filed under section 9, until such petition has been heard and determined:

Provided that, if the Certificate-officer in whose office a certificate is filed is satisfied that the certificate-debtor is likely to conceal, remove or dispose of the whole or any part of such of his movable property as would be liable to attachment in execution of a decree of a Civil Court, and that the realization of the amount of the certificate would, in consequence, be delayed or obstructed, he may at any time direct, for reasons to be recorded in writing, an attachment of the whole or any part of such movable property:

Provided further that if the certificate-debtor whose movable property has been so attached furnishes security to the satisfaction of the Certificate-officer, such attachment shall be cancelled from the date on which such security is accepted by the Certificate-officer.

Section.14, Modes of execution.                                          

Subject to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed, a Certificate-officer may order the execution of a certificate-                                                                                                                         

• (a) by attachment and sale, or by sale (without previous attachment), of any property, or                      
• (b) by attachment of any decree, or                                                                                           
• (c) by arresting the Certificate-debtor and detaining him in civil prison, or                     
• d) by any two or all of the methods mentioned in clauses (a), (b), and (c).                                    

 Explanation to clause (d).-The Certificate-officer may, in his discretion, refuse execution at the same time against the person and property of the certificate-debtor.

Section.22, Application to set aside the sale of immovable property on deposit                                                 

• (1) Where an immovable property has been sold in execution of a certificate, the certificate-debtor, or any person whose interests are affected by the sale, may, at any time within thirty days from the date of the sale, apply to the Certificate-officer to set aside the sale, on his depositing-                                                                                                                        
• (a) for payment to the certificate-holder the amount specified in the proclamation of sale as that for the recovery of which the sale was ordered, with interest thereon at the rate of six and a quarter per centum per annum, calculated from the date of the proclamation of sale to the date when the deposit is made;                                                                                                                                 
• (b) for payment to the purchaser, as penalty a sum equal to five per cent. of the purchase-money, but not less than one Taka; and                                                                                                                 
• (c) for payment to the collector (where the certificate is for a public demand payable to the Collector), such outstanding charges due to the Government under any law for the time being in force as the Collector certifies to be payable by the certificate-debtor.                                    
• (2) Where a person makes an application under section 23 for setting aside the sale of his immovable property he shall not unless he withdraws that application, be entitled to make or prosecute an application under this section.

Section.23, Application to set aside sale of immovable property on the ground of non-service of notice or irregularity                                                                                                                                                

(1) Where an immovable property has been sold in execution of a certificate, the certificate holder, the certificate-debtor, or any person whose interests are affected by the sale, may, at any time within sixty days from the date of the sale, apply to the Certificate-officer to set aside the sale on the ground that notice was not served under section 7 or on the ground of a material irregularity in the certificate proceedings or in publishing or conducting the sale:                  

Provided as follows:- 

• (a) no sale shall be set aside on any such ground unless the Certificate-officer is satisfied that the applicant has sustained substantial injury by reason of the non-service or irregularity; and      
• (b) an application made by a certificate-debtor under this section shall be disallowed unless the applicant either deposits the amount recoverable from him in the execution of the certificate or satisfies the Certificate-officer that he is not liable to pay such amount.                                  

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Certificate-officer may entertain an application made after the expiry of sixty days from the date of the sale if he is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for so doing.

Section. 24, Application to set aside the sale on the ground that certificate-debtor had no saleable interest or that property did not exist                                        

The purchaser at any sale of immovable property in execution of a certificate may, at any time within sixty days from the date of the sale, apply to the Certificate-officer to set aside the sale on the ground that the certificate-debtor had no saleable interest in the property sold, or that the property did not exist at the time of the sale.

Section. 25, Sale when to become absolute or be set aside                             

(1) Where no application is made under section 22, section 23 or section 24, or where such an application is made and disallowed, the Certificate-officer shall make an order confirming the sale, and thereupon the sale shall become absolute.                               

(2) Where such an application is made and allowed, and where, in the case of an application under section 22, the deposit required by that section made within thirty days from the date of the sale, the Certificate-officer shall make an order setting aside the sale:                                                    

Provided that no order shall be made unless notice of the application has been given to all persons affected thereby.

Section. 51, Appeal                                                                         

 (1) An appeal from any 20[* * *] order made under this Act shall lie–                                                                    

• (a) if the order was made by an Assistant Collector or a Deputy Collector, or by a Certificate-officer not being the Collector,− to the Collector, or                                                                                             
• (b) if the order was made by the Collector,–to the 21[Commissioner]:          

Provided that no appeal shall lie from any order made under section 22.            

(2) Every such appeal must be presented, in case (a), within fifteen days, or, in case (b) within thirty days, from the date of the order.                                    

 (3) The Collector may, by order, with the previous sanction of the 22[Commissioner] authorize.        

• (a) any Sub-divisional Officer, or                      
•  (b) any officer appointed under clause (3) of section 3 to perform the functions of a Certificate-officer, to exercise the appellate powers of the Collector under sub-section (1)    

(4) When any officer has been so authorized, the Collector may transfer to him for hearing any appeal referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), unless the order appealed against was made by such officer.                        

(5) Pending the decision of any appeal, execution may be stayed if the appellate authority so directs, but not otherwise.

Section. 52, Bar to second appeals                      

No appeal shall lie from any order of a Collector, or an officer authorized under section 51, sub-section (3), when passed on appeal.

Section. 53, Revision                 

(1) The Collector may revise any order passed by a Certificate-officer, Assistant Collector or Deputy Collector under this Act.                                             

(2) The Commissioner may revise any order passed by a Collector under this Act.     

(3) The Board of Land Administration may revise any order passed by a Commissioner under this Act and the order of the Board shall be final.]]

Section. 54, Review                                        

Any order passed under this Act may, after notice to all persons interested, be reviewed by the officer who made the order, or by his successor in office, on account of mistake or error either in the making of the certificate or in the course of any proceeding under this Act.

The government may empower certain officers25[54A. The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, empower an Additional Deputy Commissioner or a joint Deputy Commissioner to exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by the Collector under this Act.]

 

Ans to the qus (Registration Act, 1908)

Section. 17, Documents of which registration is compulsory      

 The following documents shall be registered, if the property to which they relate is situated in a district in which, and if they have been executed on or after the date on which, 7[* * *] this Act came or comes into force, namely:-                       

• 1, instruments of the gift of immovable property;                          
•  2, declaration of Heba under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat);]               
• 3, declaration of gift under the Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist Personal Law;]                                 
• 4, transfer another instrument for a mortgage not to the document which values at least 100 TK   
• 5, leases of immovable property from year to year, or for any term exceeding one year.   
• 6, other non-testamentary instruments which operate to create any right in present or future      or vested to immovable property    
• 7, an instrument of sale order of the court according to the SAT Act         
• 8, an instrument of partition of immovable property effected by persons upon Inheritance             
• 9, instrument sale of immovable property.

Section, 23, Time for presenting documents                                                   

 Subject to the provisions contained in sections 24, 25 and 26, no document other than a will shall be accepted for registration unless presented for that purpose to the proper officer within 19[three months] from the date of its execution:      

Provided that a copy of a decree or order may be presented within 20[three months] from the day on which the decree or order was made, or, where it is appealable, within 21[three months] from the day on which it becomes final.

Section 23A, Re-registration of certain documents22,              

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, if in any case a document requiring registration has been accepted for registration by a Registrar or Sub-Registrar from a person not duly empowered to present the same, and has been registered, any person claiming under such document may, within four months from this first becoming aware that the registration of such document is invalid, present such document or cause the same to be presented, in accordance with the provisions of Part VI for re-registration in the office of the Registrar of the district in which the document was originally registered; and upon the Registrar being satisfied that the document was so accepted for registration from a person not duly empowered to present the same, he shall proceed to the re-registration of the document as if it had not been previously registered, and as if such presentation for re-registration was a presentation for registration made within the time allowed therefor under Part IV, and all the provisions of this Act, as to registration of documents, shall apply to such re-registration; and such document, if duly re-registered in accordance with the provisions of this section, shall be deemed to have been duly registered for all purposes from the date of its original registration:

Provided that, within three months from the twelfth day of September, 1917, any person claiming under a document to which this section applies may present the same or cause the same to be presented for re-registration in accordance with this section, whatever may have been the time when he first became aware that the registration of the document was invalid.]

Section 24, Documents executed by several persons at different times            

Where there are several persons executing a document at different times, such document may be presented for registration and re-registration within four months from the date of each execution.                                                                                                                                                            

Section 25, Provision where delay in presentation is unavoidable                                                               (1) If, owing to urgent necessity or unavoidable accident, any document executed, or copy of a decree or order made, in Bangladesh is not presented for registration till after the expiration of the time hereinbefore prescribed in that behalf, the Registrar, in cases where the delay in presentation does not exceed four months, may direct that, on payment of a fine not exceeding ten times the amount of the proper registration fee, such document shall be accepted for registration.                                                                                                                                                           

  (2) Any application for such direction may be lodged with a Sub-Registrar, who shall forthwith forward it to the Registrar to whom he is subordinate.

 Section 26, Documents executed out of Bangladesh                                                                                     When a document purporting to have been executed by all or any of the parties out of Bangladesh is not presented for registration will after the expiration of the time hereinbefore prescribed in that behalf, the registering officer if satisfied-                                                                            

(a) that the instrument was so executed, and                                                                                                (b) that it has been presented for registration within four months after its arrival in Bangladesh,           may, on payment of the proper registration fee, accept such document for registration.

Section 27, Wills may be presented or deposited at any time                                                                      A will may at any time be presented for registration or deposited in the manner hereinafter provided.

Section 28, Place for registering documents relating to land                                                                         documents affecting immovable property shall be presented for registration in the office of a Sub-Registrar within whose sub-district the whole or major portion of the property to which such document relates is situated Provided that the documents of immovable property may be registered any office of the su-register which property is not situated one district

Section 29, Place for registering other documents a, every document may be present for registration either in the office of sub-sub-register in whose Sub-District the documents was executed or any other sub-register under the government b, Other documents may be present for registration either in the office of sub-register in whose sub-district the original decree of order was made. or any of our sub-registered offices under the government.

Section 32, Persons to present documents for registration 

(a) by some person executing or claiming under the same, or, in the case of a copy of a decree or order, claiming under the decree or order, or                                                                                                

 (b) by the representative or assign of such person, or                                                                                          

(c) by the agent of such person, representative or assign, duly authorized by power-of-attorney executed and authenticated in the manner hereinafter mentioned.

Section 36, Procedure where the appearance of executant or witness is desired                                               If any person presenting any document for registration or claiming under any document, which is capable of being so presented, desires the appearance of any person whose presence or testimony is necessary for the registration of such document, the registering officer may, in his discretion call upon such officer or Court as the Government directs in this behalf to issue a summons requiring him to appear at the registration-office, either in person or by duly authorized agent, as in the summons may be mentioned, and at a time named therein.

 

Section 37, Officer or Court to issue and cause service of summons                                                      The officer or Court, upon receipt of the peon's fee payable in such cases, shall issue the summons accordingly, and cause it to be served upon the person whose appearance is so required.

Section 38, Persons exempt from an appearance at the registration office.                                                                                

(1) (a) A person who by reason of bodily infirmity is unable without risk or serious inconvenience to appear at the registration-office, or                                                                                        

(b) a person in jail under civil or criminal process, or                                                                           

(c) persons exempt by law from personal appearance in Court, and who would but for the provision next hereinafter contained be required to appear in person at the registration office,     shall not be required so to appear.                                                                                                                        

 (2) In the case of every such person the registering officer shall either himself go to the house of such person, or to the jail in which he is confined, and examine him or issue a commission for his examination.

Section 47, Time from which registered document operates                                                                       A registered document shall operate from the time which it would have commenced to operate if no registration thereof had been required or made, and not from the time of its registration.

Section 48, Registered documents relating to property when to take effect against oral agreements                                                                                                                                                                           All non-testamentary documents duly registered under this Act, and relating to any property, whether moveable or immoveable shall take effect against any oral agreement or declaration relating to such property, unless where the agreement or declaration has been accompanied or followed by delivery of possession and the same constitutes a valid transfer under any law for the time being in force:                                                                                                                                                                                          Provided that a mortgage by deposit or title-deeds as defined in section 58 of the Transfer of Property Act, 1882, shall take effect against any mortgage-deed subsequently executed and registered which relate to the same property.

Section 49, Effect of non-registration of documents required to be registered                                         (a) operate to create, declare, assign, limit or extinguish, whether in present or in future, any right, title or interest, whether vested or contingent, to or in immovable property, or                                

(b) confer any power to adopt,

Section 71, Reasons for refusal to register to be recorded                                                                        (1) Every Sub-Registrar refusing to register a document, except on the ground that the property to which it relates is not situated within his sub-district, shall make an order of refusal and record his reasons for such order in his Book No. 2, and endorse the words “registration refused” on the document; and, on an application made by a person executing or claiming under the document, shall, without payment and unnecessary delay, give him a copy of the reasons so recorded.                                                                                                                                                         (2) No registering officer shall accept for registration a document so endorsed unless and until, under the provisions hereinafter contained, the document is directed to be registered.

Section 72, Appeal to Registrar from orders of Sub-Registrar refusing registration on the ground other than denial of execution                                                                                                                                     (1) Except where the refusal is made on the ground of denial of execution, an appeal shall lie against an order of a Sub-Registrar refusing to admit a document to registration (whether the registration of such document is compulsory or optional) to the Registrar to whom such Sub-Registrar is subordinate if presented to such Registrar within thirty days from the date of the order; and the Registrar may reverse or alter such order.                                                                                 

(2) If the order of the Registrar directs the document to be registered and the document is duly presented for registration within thirty days after the making of such order, the Sub-Registrar shall obey the same, and thereupon shall, so far as may be practicable, follow the procedure prescribed in sections 58, 59 and 60; and such registration shall take effect as if the document had been registered when it was first duly presented for registration.

Section 73, Application to Registrar where Sub-Registrar refuses to register on the ground of denial of execution                                                                                                                                                                 (1) When a Sub-Registrar has refused to register a document on the ground that any person by whom it purports to be executed, or his representative or assign, denies its execution, any person claiming under such document, or his representative, assign or an agent authorized as aforesaid, may, within thirty days after the making of the order of refusal, apply to the Registrar to whom such Sub-Registrar is subordinate in order to establish his right to have the document registered.                                                                                                                                                                   

(2) Such application shall be in writing and shall be accompanied by a copy of the reasons recorded under section 71, and the statements in the application shall be verified by the applicant in the manner required by law for the verification of plaints.

KHATIYAn

2. Definition of Khatian/ Record of Rights;  Khatian is a Persian word (Ali, 2007: 14). It is also known as a record of rights. It is a document for the identification of land. Documents prepared through a survey for the purpose of determining possession, ownership and assessing Land Development Tax is known as Khatiyan. All particulars of land, including name/s, father’s name, address/es and due share/s of the owners/ owners, description of land, and amount of revenue are described in Khatian. Every Khatian or record of rights is preserved in the Collectorate Record Room and Judge Record Room and also in the Tahsil (rent collection office) for reference

Khatiya (Record of Rights), Sottolipi, or Porcha is a document for identifying land. This documentation was introduced in 1885 under the Bengal Tenancy Act (Act No. VIII of 1885). Before the introduction of khatiyan, it was really difficult to assert anyone’s right over a piece of land. That is to say, there was no definitive way or legal records to identify who owns what and how. To tackle this confusion, in 1885, the Bengal Tenancy Act defined the rights and obligations of all the land by conducting a land survey so as to prepare a series of permanent land records called Record of Rights or Khatiyan for the holders of land as well as for the Government.                 

The main objective of the survey was to prepare a plot-to-plot survey and settlement on direct identification of the holder of the plot. But how does this work? – Every sub-district of a district is divided into small plots otherwise known as Mouza. And when there is a need to divide that Mouza into further plots, a Khatiyan is prepared. Every Khatiyan has a number. All the Khatiyans of a Mouza are kept according to the serial number in a bound volume.

CONTENTS OF KHATIAN                                                                                                           Khatiyan determines the number of important things. It doesn’t ascertain the entitlement of the possession of the land but works as a piece of supporting evidence of the Title Deed (another important document for validating the ownership). To that end, a Khatiyan or Record of Rights

contains the following information:                                                                                               

• 1, Khatian number;                                                                           
• 2, Mouza,Upazilla, District and J.L.No;                         
• 3, Name, father’s name and address of the owner or owners;                                  
•  4, Plot (dhag) number;                                                                                                                         
• 5, Portion of the owner or owners;                                    
• 6, Class and nature of the land;                                                                                                                                    
• 7, Amount of land development tax payable;                                                      
•  8, Total amount of land (dhag wise) etc.

 

DIFFERENT TYPES OF KHATIYAN                                                              

Four different types of Khatiyan have been prepared under different surveys up until now. Every one of them has its own purpose and functionality. Here is a brief description of each type.

1. CS KHATIYAN. Cadastral survey or CS Khatiyan was initiated in Ramu Thana of Cox’s Bazar in 1888-89 and completed in Dinajpur. The survey was conducted entirely by the Survey Department under the Bengal Tenancy Act, 1885 and was completed in 1940.
2. RS KHATIYAN. After the CS Khatiyan, a lot of complaints had been filed against the inaccuracy of CS Khatiyan. But it took 50 years to issue a revision. RSKhatiyan or Rivisional survey was conducted to revise the C.S. record. It was started in the Chittagong district and the purpose of this survey is to update the amount of land, owner’s name, and possessor’s name. Which in turn made it more authentic than the CS khatiyan.
3. SA KHATIYAN. This Khatiyan was done under the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950, that is why it is called State Acquisition Survey. It is also known as Pakistan Survey (P.S.) because it was conducted in the Pakistan Period. However, neither this is a practical survey nor based on a field survey. This khatiyan was made on the information given by the Zamindar or Landlord. The survey was concluded within a remarkably short time from 1956 to 1964 through province-wise state acquisition settlements. This khatiyan is not considered to be accurate.
4. BS KHATIYAN, Bangladesh Survey (B.S.) Khatian was prepared after the independence of Bangladesh but started before the independence. The survey operation was conducted during 1970-1990 under the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act, 1950 and B.S. Sheet was prepared during 1970-1985. The survey is still underway. That is why this is the more accurate khatiyan of all. This survey is known as Bangladesh Survey and the khatiyan made from BS survey is known as BS Khatiyan or Bangladesh Survey Khatiyan.

There is another special kind of Khatiyan also known as “Namjari”. This is really important for two different reasons. Number one, Khatiyan is always prepared through a survey but as it turns out, it doesn’t always happen. And if the property is transferred or inherited in-between two surveys then it is mandatory that you mutate and replace the current owner’s name with the old owner in the Khatiyan. Number two, it is necessary for a holding to be created to pay the land tax (Khajna).