Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam has said that 3,382 buildings under construction within Rajuk’s jurisdiction have been identified for rule violations, mentioning that work on all of them will be suspended, with partial demolition to be carried out in phases.
He made the statement at a dialogue titled "Dhaka, a City of Problems: What is the Solution?" organized by the Urban Development Journalists Forum at the Dhaka Reporters Unity Auditorium on Monday.
Riazul said: "It is not possible to do all the work at once. However, I assure you that there will be no exemption for under-construction buildings. I will continue this work as long as I am in charge. Whether it is broken or otherwise, I will bring them within the rules. Now we continue our mobile court."
Stating that no new plots will be allotted, the Rajuk chairman said: "We have no plan to allot new plots. We will recover encroached plots and provide housing for the lower and middle class."
Urging Dhaka to be brought under a "city government" to solve the problems of Dhaka city, the Rajuk chairman said: "No matter how much planning is done for Dhaka, this problem will not be solved until the Dhaka city services and planning are brought under one umbrella. All decisions on work must come from one place. Dhaka should be brought under a city government to solve the problems of Dhaka city and ensure proper services."
Speaking as a special guest at the dialogue, urban planner Md Fazle Reza Sumon said: "We have been plagued with various problems while trying to make Dhaka more important. Bureaucratic complications are responsible for the current state of Dhaka city."
He believes that it is possible to restore Dhaka's livability if good governance and accountability can be ensured.
"Dhaka city is now referred to as the city of heat," Professor Dr Ahmed Kamruzzaman, chairman of the Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS), said.
"Dhaka city is considered to be full of nature, magic, and management. But Dhaka is now saturated with air pollution, noise pollution, water pollution, and lead pollution. Half of the city's people cannot sleep due to the polluted smoke from the burning waste in the landfills of Aminbazar and Matuail. Dhaka city has now become a city of heat. It is impossible to plan for 25 million people in this city."