The government is going to undertake an integrated land utilisation plan at upazila level to check gradual reduction of farmland through unplanned housing concomitant with spontaneous urbanisation down to rural areas.
Under the plan, vertical building, instead of horizontal expansion of structures, will take place to accommodate more people in limited spaces.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal unveiled the government plan Wednesday at a workshop on "Land utilisation in the upazilas in Bangladesh' at the Planning Commission in Dhaka.
"Every year the country is losing one percent of its farmland. We need to save the lands with a proper integrated urbanisation plan at the upazila level," he told the meet.
And he gave the outline of a model for house building down to the villages in urban style. A pilot project is being launched soon.
The Urban Development Department under the Housing and Public Works Ministry and the Physical Infrastructure Division of the Planning Commission organised the workshop. Housing and Public Works Secretary Golam Rabbani presided.
Minister Mustafa Kamal suggested country's planners to work on the vertical expansion of houses as a model at the upazila level to save the shrinking farmlands.
He stressed the need for research on this matter and taking a long-term strategic plan for the best use of land in the upazilas.
"Many countries in the world have taken the vertical expansion model, which proved successful. Bangladesh should go for such model to save the arable lands," the planning minister said.
He said the country's present urbanisation growth would reduce the farmland, which, in turn, will affect the food-supply chain.
Mr Kamal informed that the government is going to take 'Palli Janapad (village community)' project in eight upazilas across the country on a pilot basis.
Under the pilot scheme--before its full-scale replication--a four-storied building would be built at a specific place in a village of each of the eight upazilas, he said. Landless people will be accommodated in the village villa in the piloting stage.
Planning Secretary Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam said Bangladesh has so far failed to take any proper strategy to save the farmland. "We need to take an integrated plan to ensure best use of the land."
