There are around 2,00,000 buildings including several thousands high-rise buildings in the premier port city. However, it is alleged that most high-rise buildings do not abide by the rules.
As per Environment Conservation Act, it is mandatory to obtain Environment Clearance Certificate and Location Clearance Certificate from Department of Environment (DoE) for constructing a high-rise building.
Both the Chittagong Development Authority and the DoE could not come up with any information regarding the exact number of high-rise buildings in the city.
The officials said some 30 high-rise buildings have obtained certificates so far from the DoE.
As per Building Construction Act, a 10-storied building having a height above 33 meters is regarded to be a high-rise one.
The city planners said that the DoE should intensify its monitoring and conduct drives on a regular basis against the errant owners who do not obtain permission for constructing a high-rise building.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, Sangjucta Das Gupta, assistant director (technical), DoE, Chittagong Metropolitan said they had already served notices to some owners for not obtaining necessary certificates.
“As per Environment Conservation Act, an owner of a high-rise building must obtain certificates from the DoE. Most of the owners are reluctant to obtain necessary certificates from us for constructing high-rise buildings,” added the DoE official.
The CDA receives around 3,000 applications for building constructions a year. Of them, around 5% are for constructing high-rise buildings.
The DoE officials said they would prepare a list of all high-rise buildings in the city.
“There are some conditions stipulated by the CDA for building a construction in the city. However, many owners tend to violate many conditions after construction. The DoE should spring into action and penalise the errant owners,” said Shahinul Islam Khan, Chief Town Planner of the CDA.
The leaders of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) alleged that some clauses under the prevailing laws for constructing buildings were conflicting.
“Genuine realtors always abide by the existing laws for constructing buildings. Only 10% high-rise buildings are constructed by the realtors while rest buildings are constructed by individuals in the city,” said SM Abu Sufian, chairman of Chittagong standing committee of the REHAB.
“The realtors in some cases show reluctance to obtain permission required for constructing a high-rise building. We are always reminding the realtors in this regard and the concerned authorities should also intensify its monitoring,” added Sufian.