Rajuk, the authority in charge of looking after the planning and development of Dhaka and its adjoining areas, has been under the spotlight after the tragic collapse of the eight-storey Rana Plaza in Savar that claimed 1,127 lives and injured thousands – the biggest industrial disaster in recent history.
After the Savar collapse, Rajuk formed five monitoring teams and coordination committees under the Building Construction Act 1952 (amendment 1987) and the Real Estate Development and Management Act 2010, to identify violations of existing building codes and take appropriate action when necessary.
The committees coordinated with various professional bodies, the civil society, journalists and environmentalists. In addition, a three-strong mobile court was formed, consisting of Rajuk officials, to ensure immediate action against any anomaly.
However, the capital’s real estate regulator has in the past failed to take any effective step against the risky buildings erected breaching the existing building codes.
Rajuk Chairman Nurul Huda told the Dhaka Tribune: “Continuous efforts are on to take action against illegal and risky structures. But manpower shortage is badly hampering our activities.”
The real estate regulator undertook the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) in 2004 to build Dhaka into a more organised and better structured metropolitan, encompassing the peripheral areas like Savar, Narayanganj and Gazipur.
But very little of the DAP has been implemented. Nurul Huda said a plan was under way to divide the DAP area into eight zones so that proper monitoring and supervision of construction activities and infrastructures could be ensured.
A number of Rajuk officials said the authority sometimes could not take action against illegal buildings due to High Court stay orders.
Rajuk’s Executive Magistrate Rokon-ud-Doula told the Dhaka Tribune: “More than 5,000 cases against Rajuk are hovering at the court. For this reason we cannot take decision or action against many disputed buildings.
“It often happens that when we decide to move against a doubtful building and serve the owner a notice, the owner files a writ petition with the High Court and secures a stay order. Due to long cue of cases, these petitions remain hanging at the court.”
The Rajuk authority, in a survey conducted during 2008-2010, identified more than 300 vulnerable buildings in Dhaka city.
In January 2010, Rajuk chief Nurul Huda had announced that the city development authority would demolish 5000 illegal buildings in the capital. “Rajuk already identified 5,000 buildings which were constructed violating National Building Code (BNBC). The owners of these buildings have been issued notice to demolish the illegal portions. If they do not comply Rajuk would take step to demolish the illegal parts,” he said. The Rajuk chief has long been citing lack of manpower as a reason for their laxity. Back in 2010, he said, “RAJUK suffers from acute manpower shortage which impedes its plan to demolish illegal and unplanned structures. We have now only one magistrate though there should be eight. This causes problems in carrying out regular drive to dislodge illegal structures.” A senior Rajuk official argues the agency’s responsibility ends with the approval of designs.
Sheikh Abdul Mannan, member of Rajuk’s Planning Division told the Dhaka Tribune: “We made a list of the vulnerable buildings in 2008 and 2010 and informed the Dhaka City Corporation [DCC]. But they never took any step against those buildings.
“Rajuk’s responsibility is only to approve designs. Monitoring and supervision are the responsibilities of the local government, that is, Dhaka City Corporation.”
Seeking anonymity, a Rajuk official however claimed that there was no legal bar on the regulator in taking actions against illegal and risky structures.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has recently recommended that Rajuk should fine the owners of more than 9,000 illegal buildings in Dhaka city and launch a drive to demolish some of these structures.
Like the Rajuk chairman, Sheikh Abdul Mannan also cited manpower shortage for failing to act.
“Only five officers run the department [that conducts demolition drives]. Apart from the manpower shortage, we also do not get police support on time. So we cannot properly conduct eviction drives against illegal structures in the city,” he said.
Another Rajuk official, also on condition of anonymity, said under Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) Project, the Narayanganj City Corporation (NCC) has given approval to housing and infrastructural designs, which needs a final approval from Rajuk.
The Rajuk official said a total of 107,391 structures have so far been constructed under the project, without Rajuk’s final approval.
Md Afsar Uddin, officer in-charge of the DND Project, told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are trying to stop such illegal activities in the NCC as the area is under the DAP.”
He also said local people obstructed a Rajuk mobile court that went to the area last year to run an eviction drive.