Dhaka, Apr 6 UNB) –  Dhaka city has developed in a chaotic fashion as Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (Rajuk), the legitimate authority to formulate land use plans and oversee their implementation, is not sufficiently equipped to foresee the consequences of unplanned development, says a study.

“Before giving building permission, Rajuk hardly considers the long-term consequences of that construction. Corruption also has resulted in the issuance of inappropriate land use clearance and building permits,” says the study.

The study titled ‘Mismanagement of Growth and Planned Development of Dhaka city: The Necessity of Proper Enforcement of Planning Standards’ was conducted by Md. Akter Mahmud, a teacher at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Jahangirnagar University.

It says Rajuk at present has a few legal tools like Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) 1995, Town Improvement Plan 1952 and Building Construction Rules 2006, but these rules were never used adequately to control and manage the development of the city; instead the development deviated from the master plan in many cases.

According to the study, development control in Dhaka city is largely hampered for various reasons. The reasons include: not exercising the existing planning rules properly, lack of regular supervision by officials concerned, inadequate building inspectors, absence of database management system and lack of practice of new technology.

The study says the land use of metropolitan Dhaka should follow the provision of its master plan. “Housing commercial and industrial project buildings need land use clearance and building permits in conformity with the land use provisions of the master plan.”

Another study titled ‘The Urban Frontiers of Dhaka: Creating Space Above The Water’ says Rajuk, as the city development agency, has geared all of its activities to serve the affluent section of society. “It has not made any significant contributions towards providing land or housing to the urban poor of Dhaka.”

The study conducted by Roxana Hafiz, a professor at Urban and Regional Planning Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet), says Rajuk has provided 7,000 plots for the higher middle-income group and the high-income group. “In recent years, it has filled up floodplain to develop 2,500 plots in Nikunja area of the city. These plots are highly subsidised although wealthy people buy these plots. Thus the role of Rajuk has been that of a developer aimed at making profit.”  

“The urban poor of Dhaka have become to realise that they do not form part of the privileged group(s) to which the city authorities cater the service and that they have been left out to fend for themselves. With this realisation, the poor have sought to provide housing for themselves.  In such attempts, unauthorised settlements have developed in various marginal places, especially along and over water regimes in Dhaka…..Thus the lives and health of residents have been put at risk.”

One of the major consequences of rapid urbanisation in Bangladesh has been the persistent deterioration of housing situation in metropolitan areas, the study says suggesting long- and short-term programmes to curb and restrain such unplanned space creation by people.