Will new master plan solve city’s problems?

A new master plan for the capital city is in the offing. Rajdhani Unnayan Katripakkha (Rajuk) has just prepared a new draft master plan before the expiry of the existing one. The ministry of housing and public works has requested the people to send their opinions on the draft plan by September 06, 2015.
A detailed area plan (DAP), according to a report in the FE this week, is expected to be prepared after finalising the draft through incorporating recommendations/suggestions from various quarters. The validity of existing master plan of the Rajuk will expire this year.
With the capital's present DAP remaining unimplemented, it is to be seen how the new master plan looks like. The earlier one was squarely opposed by a section of influential quarters. On its part, the government maintained that a 20-year plan is being formulated to ensure 'planned urban development.'
In the revised DAP, realtors and their respective housing projects have reportedly been given a priority. Many expressed their fears about whether the new DAP would take into account the protection of flood plains, rivers, farmlands that are critically important for the sustainability of the city.
The existing DAP suggested reclaiming over 2,500 acres of flood flow zones and agricultural land from the grip of illegal property developers, relocation of 3,000 industries and scrapping of 16 development projects. But none of the recommendations could be implemented as yet.
The realtors had illegally developed projects by destroying conservable flood plains, retention areas, rivers, farmlands and rural homesteads in and around the capital. The destruction of flood plains and wetlands resulted in impending environmental disaster, water-logging, and health crisis for the capital, regardless of its economic status. An estimated 83 per cent of conservable flood flow zones and wetlands have been destroyed and grabbed by influential businessmen for commercial ends.
In the face of strong opposition from realtors and a section of stakeholders, the government, in fact, stalled the implementation of the DAP, making it subject to another 'final review' by a seven-minister committee. Many vital suggestions of the DAP could not be implemented as the seven-member cabinet committee failed to give any directives.
According to environmentalists, all the conservable wetlands, destroyed by earth filling to make way for illegal housing schemes, should be reclaimed immediately as per the master plan for survival of the capital city. Residential developments, in line with the DAP, can accommodate double the present population in the capital without destroying conservable wetlands, they said.
Amid the government failure to implement the DAP, unplanned development and destruction of wetlands continued unabated. Thousands of industrial units have been built in and the outskirts of the capital, flouting the rules of land use. This happened due mainly to slack monitoring by the Rajuk.
City planners attribute the failure to implement the existing DAP to the government's lack of commitment and courage to enforce it against powerful quarters. No administrative framework had either been instituted to implement the plan due to poor leadership of the housing and public works ministry.
The government move for a new DAP, as analysts say, is an attempt to legalise earth filling of vast tracts of wetland that were essential for environment conservation and liveability. Implementation of the original master plan, they further note, is vital for saving Dhaka from natural and environmental disasters.
On their part, real estate developers want the DAP to be modified in a way that will ensure growth of the real estate sector. According to them, the government should also think of alternative ways to save wetlands inside the city, while the directions kept in the DAP to save wetlands are no longer practical.
The government, according to realtors, needs to formulate a master plan with a long-term vision. It, they suggested, should ensure a balance between protecting environment and the interest of the real estate sector as well. The DAP needs more detailed assessment to make it compatible with the present conditions of the capital and industries, they said.
According to many known circles, the rules were violated both by the private developers and the Rajuk. Different housing projects were seen violating rules by filling up wetlands. The Rajuk did it in Jhilimili and Purbachal projects which were wetlands. Some private developers did it in almost all the plots they have developed. In the past, the Rajuk allowed commercial enterprises in the residential areas, prompting deterioration of living environment.
Urban planners and researchers fear the city dwellers will have to lead miserable lives in near future as unplanned and indiscriminate nature of the urbanisation growth has emaciated the supporting environment -- destroying surrounding rivers and canals and filling up of low-lying areas. Water-logging has already become a serious problem for the city as the drainage system is too inadequate for disposal of rain water.
One gets really frustrated to see how the resources are being destroyed gradually compromising the environmental and social justice issues, in the name of development. The government did take a number of measures to protect some rivers and canals from pollution. Those do indicate that the policy-makers are eager to make Dhaka a well-planned city. But success of such efforts is blurred at the same time, when the authorities become highly inactive in taking up proper decisions.
Like the existing one, the new DAP might become another tool for promoting illegal development schemes. Many vital planning provisions incorporated in the present DAP are feared to be scrapped in the new plan. As such, if the new master plan fails to address the city's problems befittingly, Dhaka will otherwise become unliveable in the very near future.
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