The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) will not allocate any new plots for the time being, the agency’s chairman, Md Riazul Islam, has said.
He made the statement on Monday at a city dialogue titled “Problematic Dhaka: Which Way to Solution?” organized by the Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh (UDJFB) at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
“Our current plan does not involve acquiring land to allocate plots,” said Riazul. “Many ask me if there will be new plot allocations, and I clearly tell them, ‘No allocation.’ We will not allocate plots for now. Instead, we plan to use the existing land to arrange housing for the lower-middle class, possibly through instalments or other methods.”
He added that Rajuk’s focus has shifted. “Forget the dream of a perfect city. We now want a livable city. We cannot turn back time. We cannot destroy Dhaka further. We have to move forward with what we have. If we can make it livable, we will at least be able to answer to the next generation.”
The Rajuk chairman further said: “If all agencies involved in Dhaka’s development can come together under a city government and plan properly, and if we can implement such a plan, I firmly believe the problems will be solved.”
Pointing out issues such as population density and disregard for the law, he said: “From A to Z, there is a tendency among everyone to flout laws. Many people build walls right up to the edge of the road but set the columns five feet inside because they know someday the walls will have to come down. They know the law but choose to violate it anyway.”
Addressing the rise of shanty towns, Riazul said that the residents themselves are partly responsible. “We are too dependent on domestic help. In developed countries, very few households employ workers. We brought these workers to Dhaka and allowed the shanty towns to grow. We must also plan for how to manage our work without external help.”
Shaikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), presented the keynote paper at the dialogue.
He said medium- and long-term plans are rarely taken to address Dhaka’s problems, and that short-term plans often collapse with changes in leadership at responsible organizations.
Citing an example from a project in Thailand, he suggested that if Dhaka adopted neighbourhood-based development projects, half of the city’s problems could be solved within the next five years.
Ahmad Kamruzzaman Majumder, chairman of the Centre for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS) of Stamford University Bangladesh, said Dhaka has turned into a heat chamber. “There is no other city in the world with this many people. We will never be able to make Dhaka livable with this population density. There must be a ceiling on the population.”
