Khas Land Lease and Settlement Rules in Bangladesh: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

In this guide: What is khas land, and how does land become khas? · Who can get agricultural khas land? The 1997 policy · How to apply for khas land settlement, step by step · Non-agricultural khas land and yearly (eksona) lease · How to check whether land is khas · Private land wrongly recorded as khas, and illegal occupation

The short answer

Khas land is government land managed by the Deputy Commissioner through the AC Land. Agricultural khas land is settled on genuinely landless, agriculture-dependent families under the 1997 policy: up to 1 acre per family (1.5 acres in char areas), for 99 years, on a registered kabuliyat in the names of husband and wife, for a token salami of Tk 1. Non-agricultural khas land in towns is settled under the 1995 policy on payment of salami linked to market value. Settled land can be inherited but not sold. Public-use land such as rivers, canals and playgrounds cannot be settled at all.

What is khas land, and how does land become khas?

“Khas” land is land that belongs to the government and is held directly by it, not by a private owner. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) manages it as Collector, with the Assistant Commissioner (Land), or AC Land, and the union land office doing the day-to-day work.

• Agricultural khas land: cultivable land in rural areas. This is what is settled on landless families.
• Non-agricultural khas land: under the 1995 policy, land within metropolitan, municipal (pourashava) and upazila sadar areas is treated as non-agricultural, even if it is cultivable.
• Char and diara land: land newly formed in or beside rivers. Much of it is khas and is a main source of land for landless families.
• Public-use land: rivers, canals, beels, roads, ghats, ponds, parks, playgrounds, graveyards and cremation grounds. A Ministry of Land circular of October 2025 says such land must stay in public use and cannot be reclassified or settled.

Jalmahals (government water bodies), balumahals, hat-bazars and forest land are managed under their own separate rules, not the khas land settlement policies.

Land usually becomes khas through a legal process: land above the legal ceiling, land abandoned by its holder, land lost to river erosion and later re-formed (subject to the rules on reclaiming it), land bought by the government at a sale for unpaid dues, or land that was never privately owned. Simply failing to pay land tax for some years does not by itself turn land into khas land.

Who can get agricultural khas land? The 1997 policy

The Agricultural Khas Land Management and Settlement Policy 1997 reserves agricultural khas land for the landless. In broad terms, a landless family is one that depends on agriculture for its living and has no agricultural land, either with no homestead at all or with only a small homestead. “Depends on agriculture” generally means a member works as a farm labourer or sharecropper on someone else’s land.

Where there are more applicants than land, the policy gives priority, in roughly this order, to:

1. destitute families of freedom fighters;
2. families who lost all their land to river erosion;
3. widows or abandoned women with an able-bodied son;
4. families with neither homestead nor agricultural land;
5. families with a homestead but no agricultural land;
6. families made landless by government land acquisition.

Key terms of the settlement:

• Area: up to 1 acre per family, or 1.5 acres in char areas.
• Term: 99 years, which works as a permanent settlement.
• Salami: a token Tk 1, plus a small registration cost for the kabuliyat.
• Joint names: husband and wife apply and sign together and hold the land jointly. A widow or widower can apply alone.
• No sale: the land cannot be sold, gifted or otherwise transferred, but it passes to the holder’s heirs.

How to apply for khas land settlement, step by step

Applications are made on the prescribed form, available at the AC Land office, the UNO office or the DC office. The union land office can tell you which khas land in your area is available.

1. List of available land: the Upazila committee identifies settleable khas land and publishes a list. People can object within a short period.
2. Application: husband and wife fill in the form with recent photographs, copies of their national ID cards, and a certificate and attested photographs from the local union parishad chairman or ward councillor.
3. Verification: the union land office checks the family’s landless status on the ground. Selection is discussed in open meetings, usually at the union parishad.
4. Committee approval: the Upazila Khas Land Management Committee (chaired by the UNO, with the AC Land as member-secretary) recommends; the DC or Additional DC (Revenue) approves.
5. Kabuliyat: the kabuliyat (settlement deed) is signed by both spouses and registered at the Sub-Registrar office.
6. Record and possession: a khatian is opened in the settlees’ names and possession is handed over on the ground.

The land office charter sets out a target of about 90 to 120 days, but in practice it often takes longer. If you are refused or passed over unfairly, you can object or appeal to the district committee and then the national committee. Never pay a middleman: the only official charges are the token salami and the registration cost.

Non-agricultural khas land and yearly (eksona) lease

Non-agricultural khas land in cities, pourashavas and upazila sadars is settled under the Non-Agricultural Khas Land Management and Settlement Policy 1995. It can be given on long-term settlement (99 years) for set purposes, such as homesteads for disaster-affected families, religious or educational institutions, and industrial or other approved uses. The settlee pays salami worked out from the local market value of land. The policy has been revised by later circulars, and the approving authority depends on the purpose and the land’s value, so check the current rules with the DC office before you apply.

Khas land that is not available for permanent settlement is sometimes given on a yearly lease, usually called an eksona (একসনা) lease. This is common for newly formed char land and for temporary use of town land, such as a shop space or a seasonal crop.

• A yearly lease gives a right to use the land for that year only. It is not ownership.
• Renewal is at the government’s discretion and is not guaranteed.
• You should not build anything permanent or sublet the land.
• Paying the lease money for many years does not convert the lease into ownership, and a “deed” bought from a lease-holder gives nothing.

Whether long-term or yearly, a settlement can be cancelled if the land is sold or transferred, used for a purpose other than the one it was given for, left unused, or obtained by false information. The courts have held that the authorities must give the holder a hearing before cancelling a settlement.

How to check whether land is khas

Before buying land, especially near rivers, roads or in char areas, check whether any part of it is khas. A deed for khas land given by a private seller passes no title, however old it is.

• Khatian: government khas land is usually recorded in khatian No. 1, the “1 no. khas khatian”, in the name of the Collector or the Deputy Commissioner. Check the CS, SA, RS and latest BS khatians, not just one.
• Online records: you can look up khatians and mouza maps online on the government land portal and then compare the dag (plot) numbers with the seller’s deed.
• Union land office: ask the land assistant officer to check the khas land register and any settlement or lease cases for that dag.
• Physical signs: land next to a river or canal, a public road, a school field or a graveyard needs extra care.

Khas land cannot be bought or sold privately, and mutation (namjari) in a buyer’s name will be refused once the land office spots the khas record. The only lawful way to get it is a settlement or lease from the government. See our guide on what to check before you buy land.

Private land wrongly recorded as khas, and illegal occupation

Sometimes a survey wrongly records private land as khas, or the land office treats it as khas. The remedy depends on the record and the facts.

• Latest survey record wrong: if the error is in the latest finally published survey record, a case before the Land Survey Tribunal may be the right forum. Strict time limits apply.
• Civil suit: you can file a suit for declaration of title, and for correction of the record, against the government. Under the Code of Civil Procedure the government is sued as “Bangladesh”, usually represented by the DC (s.79). You should first serve a written notice on the Secretary or the Collector (DC) and wait two months (s.80). Skipping the notice has consequences, so take advice. If the land office is threatening to take possession, an injunction can be sought.
• Evidence: your chain of deeds, older khatians in your family’s name, tax receipts and mutation records are what usually win these cases.

On the other side, occupying khas or public land unlawfully is an offence. Under section 11 of the Land Crimes Prevention and Remedy Act 2023, unlawfully occupying or entering government or public land, building on it or damaging it is punishable with up to two years’ imprisonment and a fine. The administration can also evict occupiers. Anyone can report encroachment to the AC Land or UNO. See our guide on recovering illegally occupied land.