The city of Chittagong needs urgent attention from the policy makers to address a host of problems as it is lagging behind Dhaka in various sectors, despite having a large contribution to national economy, according to a recent study by Brac University.
The study report, titled “State of Cities: Governance for a Liveable Chittagong,” was published yesterday at a ceremony in Chittagong Club, where Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain was the chief guest.
It is the third study conducted by the Brac Institute of Governance and Development (BGID) at the university on local governance, but Chittagong was included in the study for the first time.
According to the report, “systemic dysfunction of local institutions, lack of horizontal accountability, dualism in service delivery, weak administrative and fiscal autonomy and excessive dependence of the local government on the central government and other agencies are constraints to good governance of the city.”
Speaking at the event, the minister said Chittagong had some unique advantages. “We have to do a lot of work to make the city livable and explore its resources.”
He said: “The Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved a Tk1,000-crore plan, under which the construction of power and liquefied natural gas (LNG) stations have already been started in Matarbari, with a 91-km pipeline to be set up between Maheshkhali upazila in Cox’s Bazar and Anwara upazila in Chittagong to supply the LNG to resolve the gas crisis in Chittagong city.
“The city corporation has been dumping waste in open space, causing serious threat to the nature and human health. So we need to work on the waste management and recycling system as well.”
Presided over by BIGD’s Executive Director Dr Sultan Hafeez Rahman, the ceremony was attended by Mr Salahuddin Kashem Khan, managing director of AK Khan and Companies, as special guest, Dr Tofail Ahmed, head of politics, democracy and governance department at the BIGD, Zarina Hossain, architect and member of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, and Prof Muhammed Sekandar Khan, president of Forum for Planned Chittagong, among others.
Discussing the study report, Dr Tofail Ahmed said: “Chittagong City Corporation has received Tk348 crore in the past four years from the government, whereas Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) was given Tk4,400 crore in the past five years. Implementation of the development projects are often delayed because of the lack of coordination among the 32 institutes that are affiliated with the city corporation.”
The speakers also put emphasis on good political intention of the leaders as well as public opinion for efficient implementation of any development project in the port city.
Interestingly, though the study focused on the urban development in Chittagong city, there was no representatives of the CDA, the city corporation and others relevant authorities at the ceremony.