The government has issued a gazette finalising a 1,528-square-kilometre Detailed Area Plan (DAP) to ensure planned urbanisation in Dhaka and its adjacent areas.
Housing and public works ministry published the gazette on Tuesday after a series of parleys with stakeholders.
The DAP will guide future construction in Dhaka city, use of land and demarcation of canals and flow areas.
According to the gazette, the government on 02 September 2020 asked city-dwellers to submit complaints or recommendations regarding the proposed DAP.
The ministry has finalised the DAP taking into consideration all the complaints and recommendations.
With the publication of the gazette, the previous DAP, which was approved in 2010 went dead.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) under the ministry finalised the 20-year master plan (2016-2035) amid worries of the realtors about a height cap of commercial and residential buildings.
On the other hand, urban planners are also in the dark as they are yet to know whether their concerns or proposals over the DAP are taken care of.
When contacted, Real Estate of Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) president Alamgir Shamsul Alamin said they raised concern over the DAP and shared it with the RAJUK several times.
"If the issues are addressed in the DAP, we will, of course, welcome it. Otherwise, we have to sit with the capital development authority soon to get things fixed."
"Let's read the full document [first]," adds Mr Alamin.
About the major concern, he said the RAJUK proposed restrictions over height of commercial and residential buildings, which is not suitable for a densely-populated city like Dhaka.
If the DAP does not come out of the proposed height cap, the city will be growing horizontally that will be detrimental to agricultural land.
The realtor said the RAJUK proposed to take people out of the city through lessening density.
"For that, infrastructure needs to be developed outside the main city. We thus proposed to fix height considering width of roads."
Talking to the FE, urban planner Iqbal Habib says they have shared views under the DAP to make a citizen-friendly liveable city in the past one-and-a-half year.
Rajuk made the DAP targeting proper urbanisation for 18 million people. But sustainable living should be ensured for a large number of people, including those who still live in slums.
According to Mr Habib, the RAJUK proposed a height embargo for residential buildings from six storeys to 12 storeys on an area basis.
But it will not be a proper decision for a city like Dhaka where population density is too high, he says.
"We don't want to see destruction of our farmlands, canals, rivers and ponds in the name of urbanisation as it will threaten food security. So, we proposed to compromise FAR (floor-area ratio) if needed."
Talking about the mechanism of reducing population density, Mr Habib says some people talk about reducing the number of people in the main town and forcing them to go to Dhaka's suburbs.
"But… who will be staying and who will be leaving? What will be the criteria? It will be a critical task. We need to read the full document," he concludes.
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