Bangladesh needs to achieve and maintain 9% economic expansion to become a developed nation by 2041 said, Planning Commission Member Dr Shamsul Alam on Saturday.
Stating the country’s Gross Domestic product (GDP) in 2017-18 fiscal year was 7.86%, the highest in the history of Bangladesh, he gave credit to higher skills and well-designed plans for helping achieve the feat.
“As we are eyeing the status of a developed nation by 2041, we have to achieve and maintain a GDP growth of 9% through the deadline,” he suggested.
Dr Shamsul Alam was speaking as a chief guest at a seminar on Sustainable Cities and Communities, organised by Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) at its office in Dhaka.
Claiming that Bangladesh came across a decade without any development plan until 2009, Shamsul said the country is now on a proper development track and it will gain pace if any massive global economic recession is not repeated in future.
He was also of the opinion that the government must introduce a specialised cadre under the Public Service Commission so it can bolster the development planning and its implementation as Bangladesh has already entered the era of mega development projects.
On the issue of haphazard and unplanned development activities, he emphasized on a collective decision by all the ministries concerned, government agencies and other stakeholders.
According to him, chalking out a plan from the capital for the entire country is an inappropriate approach towards sustainable development.
Md Shahid Ullah Khan, housing and public works affairs secretary, said without public awareness, it is not possible to ensure proper and sustainable development.
“The people have to be aware of development and their role in this regard. We need to change our mindset since the government alone cannot handle all the issues related to development, from adopting a law to project implementation,” he observed.
If the rest of the country undergoes unplanned development the way Dhaka did, it will soon become as unlivable as the capital city, he feared.
The government, Shahid said, is going to form a committee to review the Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka metropolitan.
Blaming a number of landlords and realtors for violating Bangladesh National Building Code, he warned them of not getting power, gas and water connections if they do not avail an occupancy certificate from the authorities concerned.
Underscoring the need for development in energy sector to become a developed nation, Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority Chairman Md Helal Uddin said: “We have to come out of the conventional energy generation legacy.”
The government official called for special attention to past experiences while planning and implementing a project.
Moderated by BIP President AKM Abul Kalam, the event was addressed , among others, by Hasina Moshrefa of Brac’s Urban Development Programme.