The government’s latest directive requiring buildings in Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, and Niketan to install septic tanks, soak wells, and, in some cases, sewage treatment plants (STPs) has sparked debate over whether authorities are tackling environmental pollution or shifting the cost of years of planning and regulatory shortcomings onto property owners.
While Rajuk says the move is essential to stop untreated wastewater from polluting Gulshan Lake and groundwater, urban planners argue the directive has exposed deeper weaknesses in Dhaka’s building regulation, sewerage planning, and enforcement systems.
Under Bangladesh’s planning framework, Rajuk is responsible for approving building designs, ensuring compliance with construction rules, and verifying buildings before occupancy.
Experts question how thousands of buildings were approved if the wastewater management systems now being required were already mandatory under existing regulations.
“If mandatory sanitation facilities were absent, how were occupancy certificates issued in the first place?” asked one urban planning expert, arguing that regulatory failures cannot now be shifted entirely onto citizens.
Many property owners say they constructed their buildings according to Rajuk-approved designs, obtained legal utility connections, and have paid sewerage charges to Dhaka WASA for years.
They are now being instructed to retrofit expensive sanitation systems that may require significant structural modifications.
“We fully support protecting Gulshan Lake,” said a property owner in Gulshan, requesting anonymity.
“But if the authorities approved these buildings, connected them to the sewerage system, and collected sewerage fees for years, why are we now being told our sanitation systems are inadequate?”
The controversy has also revived questions about Bangladesh’s unfinished sewerage infrastructure.
The Tk3,482-crore Dasherkandi Sewage Treatment Plant, inaugurated in 2023, was expected to form the backbone of Dhaka’s modern wastewater management system. However, much of the capital remains outside the central sewerage network, leaving many neighborhoods dependent on decentralized wastewater disposal.
Urban planners question whether requiring costly building-level STPs before completing the city’s sewerage network reflects a coherent long-term strategy.
“Decentralized mandates without completing central sewerage reflect fragmented urban governance and shift responsibility to citizens,” said Adil Mohammed Khan, executive director of the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD) and a professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Jahangirnagar University.
Architect and urban development expert Iqbal Habib echoed those concerns, saying Dhaka’s sanitation crisis cannot be solved “building by building” but instead requires integrated citywide infrastructure planning backed by institutional accountability.
Urban governance specialists say sewerage systems, like roads and drainage, are core public infrastructure.
They argue that if the state has yet to complete the necessary network, requiring individual property owners to bear the full financial burden raises important policy questions.
Several experts recommend phased implementation, government incentives, technical assistance, and cost-sharing mechanisms rather than blanket compliance orders.
Rajuk, however, maintains that immediate intervention is necessary.
Chief Town Planner Mohammad Ashraful Islam said the 2025 Building Construction Rules require STPs in areas lacking effective sewerage coverage, while septic tanks and soak wells remain mandatory under the rules, even in areas served by sewer lines.
According to Rajuk, Dhaka’s existing sewerage coverage remains insufficient to rely solely on centralized treatment, making decentralized systems essential until the network is fully developed.
Environmental experts caution that residential buildings are only one of several sources of pollution entering Gulshan Lake.
Wastewater from commercial establishments, informal settlements, illegal sewer connections, stormwater drains, and aging infrastructure also contributes significantly to deteriorating water quality.
Previous surveys have identified numerous drainage outlets discharging untreated wastewater into the lake, suggesting the pollution originates from multiple sources rather than households alone.
Experts therefore call for comprehensive pollution mapping, independent technical audits of existing buildings, faster expansion of the central sewerage network, accelerated connections to the Dasherkandi treatment plant, and transparent enforcement based on scientific evidence.
Beyond septic tanks and STPs, they say the controversy raises broader questions about urban governance, regulatory accountability, and the state’s responsibility to provide essential public infrastructure.
While protecting Gulshan Lake is widely recognized as an environmental necessity, experts say long-term restoration will require more than stricter compliance.
It will also depend on coordinated investment, institutional accountability, and a clear, evidence-based strategy for expanding Dhaka’s sewerage infrastructure.
