Prime Minister’s Private Industry and Investment Adviser Salman F Rahman has stressed the need for organized urbanization to address the challenge of haphazard industrialization encroaching on rural agricultural land in remote regions undergoing economic development.
“The remote areas of the country are also witnessing industrialization and urbanization with the economic advancement of the country. Unplanned industrial establishments are being built on agricultural land. Proper and planned urbanization is very important to overcome this situation,” he made the statement after inaugurating the conference on International Conference on Urban and Regional Planning (ICURP) in Dhaka on Saturday.
The three-day conference is organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), partnering with the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and domestic and foreign development partners.
In his speech, PM’s Adviser Salman F Rahman said there is still no plan on how urbanization will be done at the upazila level of the country.
“With the development of the country, the economic condition of the people has also changed and the purchasing power has increased. It is also creating new challenges with the country's waste management, which requires proper management.”
Regarding Dhaka’s urban development plan known as the Detailed Area Plan (DAP), he said: “There are various stakeholders. They all want to protect their own interests. Still, an acceptable DAP has been formulated by considering the proposal for all the concerned parties.”
BIP President Planner Mohammad Fazle Reza Sumon, BIP Convener of the Advisory Council Planner Prof. Dr. Akter Mahmud, and Head of Development Cooperation, German Embassy, Florian Hollen were present as special guests.
BIP General Secretary and ICURP Convenor Shaikh Muhammed Mehedi Ahsan presented the keynote of the conference.
The organizers say it has organized the event “intending to display and further explore the path of contributions that the discipline and its professionals can make.”
“BIP believes urban, regional and rural planning can add significant value in achieving the stated global and national targets and translate them at city, rural and community levels,” it said in a statement.
This year's ICURP aims to bring together planners, professionals, educators, researchers, and those involved in urban and rural development in various parts of the nation so they can collaborate effectively to advance urbanization by sharing their varied perspectives and experiences.