Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) President, Nasrul Hamid Bipu, on Tuesday alleged that the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha takes almost a year to approve a building plan due to a lack of coordination.
He made the remarks on Tuesday at a meeting with Housing and Public Works Minister Tofail Ahmed as a Rehab delegation met the minister at his office.
Bipu said:“Despite a massive Tk240bn turnover in the sector, it is one of the most neglected in the country.”
He said that despite a special allocation for the sector in the last budget, “the Bangladesh Bank governor sent letters the private banks asking them not to issue any loans, terming it as an [unproductive sector].”
He said though some of the banks were still issuing loans, the interest rate was so high that it was hampering business and causing their owners losses.
Bipu urged the minister to resolve the problems by consulting the finance minister and other authorities concerned.
Meanwhile, Housing and Public Works Minister Tofail Ahmed from the meeting urged the authorities concerned, including Rajuk, to work comprehensively along with other departments to eliminate the hazards regarding the approval of the plans for constructing buildings in the Dhaka city.
He said: “Although we will not take any major decision during our short tenure, we must eliminate the hazards on approving the plans, a major problem faced by the sector.”
The minister assured the REHAB delegation of eliminating the problems.
Tofail also ordered the authorities concerned to allocate a plot in Uttara or Purbachal project area for REHAB, so that it can establish a training institute.