The cabinet has given nod to the proposal of conversion of the Tejgaon industrial area as industrial, commercial and residential area.
The approval was made at the regular cabinet meeting at the secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair on Monday.
However, to get the final approval of the prime minister in the proposal, the housing and public works ministry will have to prepare a master plan to build a well planned industrial, commercial and residential area.
“The ministry will start preparing the draft of the master plan shortly and it would be prepared within one month,” Housing and Public Works Engineer Mosharraf Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune in his office at the secretariat after the cabinet meeting.
“The draft of the master plan will be sent to the prime minister for final approval. A gazette notification will be issued if the prime minister gives her nod on the proposal,” he said.
“We will allow the plot owner’s building, commercial and residential constructions in the area after issuing the notification.”
Emphasising on building constructions of the same height in the area, the minister said: “All of the buildings of the area will be of the same height with two or three basements. Nobody would be allowed to build a building having a different height in the area. It would be monitored strictly to ensure beautification of the industrial, commercial and residential area.”
The government decided to allow the conversion of 430 industrial plots of around 500.20 acres of land as an industrial, commercial and residential plot.
The proposal was tabled in the cabinet considering the applications of the plot owners who were given the plots in 1950.
The plot owners want to convert the plots as commercial and residential plots as most of the industries that were housed in the area, were relocated in other places. Most of the plots in the area are already being used as commercial plots.
Mosharraf said though the government decided to build Tejgaon as a well planned commercial and residential area, it will also be allowed to be used for industries.
However, only light industries like media houses, information and communication technology centres will be allowed to stay in the area.
The heavy and labour intensive industries would never be allowed to be build in the area in the future.
“There are some government plots in the area. Those areas remained vacant as those were never allotted against any person and the government also never used them,” he added.
“We are planning to build high-rise buildings on those plots which will be used as government accommodations. The public servants that are facing crisis of accommodations will be accommodated in those buildings.”
Describing the conditions that the premier instructed to follow for the approval of the conversion, Mosharraf said: “The arrangement of adequate roads and flyovers, sewerage system, setting up of effluent treatment plants considering the necessity, waste management system, construction of same heights' buildings, markets and institutions and proper use of detailed area plan (DAP) rules must be ensured for approval of the area.”
Earlier, in the briefing after the cabinet meeting, Cabinet secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters: “The cabinet emphasised on preparing the master plan for the conversion of the area.”
“The master plan would be given to the premier for her nod after scrutinising and examining by a committee that would be formed and led by the housing and public works minister.”
