The government is planning to set up high-rise staff quarters and flats for its officials and employees at different tiers aiming to address their existing housing scarcity, officials said.
The Prime Minister already made her intent known in this connection, a high official at the ministry of land (MoL) said.
The project will be implemented at Savar, Amin Bazar, Ashulia, Keraniganj, Tongi and Narayanganj on the outskirts of Dhaka city. The flats under the project would be given to the officers and other staffs of the government offices doing their jobs in and around the Dhaka city.
Unused land under different ministries in these areas would be selected for implementing the project, the official said.
The next steps in this connection would be taken after selection of land, he added.
MoL secretary Mesbah Ul Alam sent on Sunday a letter in this connection to Bank and Financial Institutions Division (BFID) secretary Md Eunusur Rahman requesting to take necessary measures for selection of land.
Currently, about 92 per cent government officials of Dhaka city and adjoining areas are not getting access to the housing facility. The government provided the accommodation facility to only 8.0 per cent of its employees in the capital, according to data of the Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
There are 148,910 government employees in Dhaka city at present. Of them, only 13,052 or 08 per cent enjoy the facility, the data shows.
 "The secretary has requested the BFID to take an initiative for selecting unused land under different ministries at Savar, Amin Bazar, Ashulia, Keraniganj, Tongi and Narayanganj to resolve the housing shortage," a senior official of the MoL said.
Due to the shortage of accommodation in the capital, officials were occupying the government's accommodation facilities even after their retirement or transfer, he also said.
The government was working on housing facility for all government officials and employees by 2019, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said in April last at a discussion at Dhaka Club in the city.
In last October, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) sanctioned a project to build more than 1,000 flats for government employees in Dhaka.
MoL secretary Mesbah Ul Alam could not be reached over phone for comments despite several attempts.
   rezamumu@gmail.com
Ministry seeks BFID steps on selection of city land
Rezaul Karim | Published: August 11, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
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