The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal for the conversion of Tejgaon industrial area into an industrial, commercial and residential area at the same time.
“We will shortly start preparing the draft of a master plan to turn Tejgaon into an industrial, commercial and residential area. It will be prepared within a month,” Housing and Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain told the Dhaka Tribune after the cabinet meeting.
“The draft will be sent to the prime minister for final approval. A gazette notification will be issued if she gives her approval to the proposal. We will allow plot owners to build commercial and residential structures in the area after issuing the notification,” he added.
The minister said, “All the buildings in the area will have same height with two or three basements. No one will be allowed to build buildings of different heights.”
The government had decided to allow conversion of 430 industrial plots on around 500.20 acres of land into industrial, commercial and residential plots. The proposal was placed in the cabinet meeting as the owners who got plots in 1950 had submitted applications to turn their plots into commercial and residential plots.
Mosharraf said though the government had taken the decision to build Tejgaon as a well-planned commercial and residential area, it would also allow the owners to use their plots for small industries like media houses and information and communication technology centres.
Heavy and labour-intensive industries would never be allowed in the area in future.
“The government owns some plots in the area. It neither allotted these plots to any person nor used them. We are planning to build high-rise buildings on these plots to provide accommodation for public servants,” he added.
He added: “Adequate roads and flyovers, sewerage system, setting up of effluent treatment plants, waste management, construction of same sized buildings, markets and institutions and proper use of detailed area plan rules must be ensured for approval.”
The minister said Tejgaon truck terminal would be relocated somewhere else as it causes a huge traffic congestion in the capital.
Earlier, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters, “The cabinet has stressed the need for devising the master plan for the area. The master plan will be submitted to the premier for her approval. A committee headed by the housing and public works minister will be formed to scrutinise and examine the draft.”
