The encroachment into water bodies and land continues unabated while the Rajuk and BIWTA have yet to take sustainable measures to stop such illegal activities.
Hundreds of housing companies, group of industries and sand traders appear nonchalant and are grabbing the rivers and wetlands in and around the capital at their own sweet will.
A vast area of five rivers – Buriganga, Turag, Balu, Shitalakhya, Dhaleshwari – forty canals and floodwater flow zones and even croplands are in the grip of land grabbers.
The government just makes plans and formulates rules, regulations and acts like Detailed Area Plan (DAP), Town Development Act 1953, but all those done over the years simply remain on paper only, urban planners say.
The DAP aimed to facilitate Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan and protect canals, wetlands, retention ponds, roads, open spaces, croplands and all topographical features.
“It could not be said that the DAP was fully successful. A large number of land developers continue to fill up flood flow zones and grab embankment of rivers around Dhaka,” said Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, who headed the DAP expert team.
He said structural and industrial disaster might occur repeatedly as development had taken place defying the authorised land use plan.
“The DAP remains far from being implemented due to negligence of the authorities concerned and the land developers are using the land violating the Rajuk plan,” Prof Jamilur added.
Prof Sarwar Jahan of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Buet, said: “Land developers have filled up most designated wetlands and flood flow zones in and around Dhaka.”
“The grabbing of flood-prone zones and water bodies will lead to waterlogging and destruction of ecology,” he said.
During several visits to different river banks and flood plain areas around Dhaka-Purbachal New Town Project, Rupganj upazila in Narayanganj, Jhilmill New Town in Keraniganj upazila, Tongi, Ashulia and Aminbazar, the Dhaka Tribune correspondent came to see that the land developers and sand traders were still filling up water bodies and cropland violating the DAP.
Sources said the Rajuk would conduct eviction drive immediately against such illegal housing projects and sand traders who ran their business on the river banks.
Rajuk Chairman Nurul Huda said they planned to divide the DAP into eight areas to apply acts and laws properly.
Asked about any drive, he said: “Drive against such illegal activities of the land developers goes on. It is the routine work of Rajuk,” he said.
Dr Md Samsuddoha Khandaker, chairman of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, told the Dhaka Tribune, “We have been informed of the continuous encroachment upon the river around Dhaka.”
“A meeting was held in the Ministry of Shipping last month on how to save the rivers from grabbers,” he added.
A joint committee of the deputy commissioner office of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and BIWTA demarcated the river area and set up pillars, leaving a large area on both sides of the rivers around the capital.
The demarcation pillars were installed in the heart of the water body, applying wrong process, he regretted, adding that a further demarcation would be done as per the decision of the meeting.
The BIWTA chairman vowed that action would be taken against those grabbing the rivers and polluting the water body by dumping waste.