Citizens' Perspective on Land E-Mutation at Upazila Land Offices in Mymensingh

Abstract

Bangladesh's land administration system is intricate due to manual record keeping, paper-based evidence, inaccurate survey records, and coordination problems among ministries and departments. To improve the mutation and other land-related services and attain the 'Vision 2021', the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has taken initiatives for land administration through digitization. One of the initiatives was land E-Mutation, which enables citizens to submit an online application for change of ownership with reduced time, cost, and visits compared to the conventional method. The broad objective of this study was to analyze the impact of E-Mutation at Upazila land offices from citizens' perspectives and explore the potentiality of mitigating corruption in Bangladesh. This study followed a quantitative approach where the survey method was conducted through a structured questionnaire. The study area was the Upazila land offices located in the Mymensingh district. The study's findings showed that citizens are aware of the E-Mutation process; however, there is a need for heightened digital literacy among them. The inauguration of E-Mutation has lessened citizens' time, cost, and visits to the land offices. 76 percent opined that E-Mutation had decreased the time. 45 percent stated that mutation service had enhanced transparency through online-based applications and payment. Moreover, 35.8 percent of respondents opined that E-Mutation has a noteworthy impact on reducing corruption. Another notable finding is that 53.1 percent of respondents are satisfied to some extent; however, there are still challenges that need to be addressed, such as document processing, lack of digital literacy, and the interference of brokers at Upazila land offices. A further mixed-method study with a greater sample size would be beneficial to evaluate the overall impact of E-Mutation from the citizens' perspective.