Why is DAP considered a burden for housing?

The area of Dhaka city is about 1 per cent of the country’s total area but about 10 per cent of the country’s total population live here. To face the situation, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) formulated a new Detailed Area Plan (DAP) (2025-35) to make the capital city liveable.

But the DAP, which encompasses 1,528 square kilometres of Dhaka and its neighbouring area, has drawn debate and controversy.

The draft plan of DAP first fixed the limit of building height considering the density of population and other civic facilities, drawing flak from various quarters, especially from architects and housing businesspeople.

Later, RAJUK moved away and recommended fixing the area of the building based on the floor area ratio (FAR) system. As a result, the area of the buildings decreased in the planned areas like Dhanmondi and Gulshan, but that also drew criticism. The RAJUK then made some changes but the situation did not improve.

Leaders of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) also demanded amendments to the DAP claiming the FAR for planned and unplanned areas has been fixed discriminatorily to protect the interest of certain individuals and groups. As a result, 60 per cent of the building area will now be available compared to the previous area, causing a loss to landowners as well as apartment sellers and buyers. Besides, surrounding arable lands, ditches and canals will also decrease significantly.

Leaders of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB) also demanded amendments to DAP. They said a certain clique of the RAJUK dominates in the approval process of the new buildings due to existing discrimination and some ambiguities in the DAP. Procrastination, confusion and corruption are also on the rise. Above all, harassment of the people, including the landowners, have increased.

The new DAP allocates less FAR in Mirpur-10 and 11, Mohammadpur, Kalyanpur, Agargaon, Badda, Kuril, Khilkhet, Niketan, Nayatola, Madhubagh, Goran, Sipahibagh, Madhya Basabo, Ansarabad, Sabujbagh, Kadamtala, Dakshingaon, Malibagh, Shantibagh, Shukrabad, Paschim Rajabazar and Jigatala.

However, the construction of buildings by creating blocks with several plots gives additional facilities. On the other hand, FAR is higher in areas like Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara and Dhanmondi. Usually, a higher FAR allows more building area, and that is related to the building’s number and height.

Real estate businesspersons claimed the new DAP affected businesses as land owners showed less interest in constructing new buildings. The rate of project undertaking also has dropped. If DAP is not amended apartment prices will increase. Even city residents would lose the opportunity to purchase apartments from small companies in various areas.

The construction of buildings under the jurisdiction of RAJUK requires two approvals – land clearance and construction clearance. Land clearance is issued in accordance with the DAP and construction clearance as per the Dhaka Imarat Nirman Bidhimala (building construction guidelines). The process is underway to revise the Dhaka Imarat Nirman Bidhimala in line with the new DAP.

The REHAB forwarded a list of proposals to the RAJUK informally to amend the proposed guidelines. They recommend raising the approvable FAR indicator related to the width of roads adjacent to plots, as well as area-based FAR. If it is implemented, the opportunity will be created to construct buildings with current size.

REHAB vice president Abdul Latif told Prothom Alo, “We wanted to cancel the DAP, but it is a time-consuming process so we made several recommendations to the proposed building construction guidelines in consultation with the government’s high level. We proposed raising the building area and minimum 20-feet road, easing building occupancy certificates, as well as making the city environment-friendly and alleviating water logging.”

He further said it is necessary to amend DAP for the betterment of everyone including Dhaka residents, land owners, and apartment sellers and buyers.

Architects, however, expressed their concerns saying what would happen if permission is issued for high-rise buildings in the areas where roads are narrow, the sewerage system is not so good, there is no open space or playground and there is no school or hospital nearby. More people will reside, thus, it will increase pressure on existing infrastructures.

The DAP was first formulated in 2010 under the Town Improvement Act 1953. After that, the government was forced to form a cabinet committee under the pressure of the influential quarters including the real estate businesspersons to finalise the plan. The committee made more than 200 amendments instead, effectively giving legality to fill the water body. At first, the deadline for DAP was 2015, and it was extended later.

RAJUK published the draft of the second DAP (2022-35) in 2020. It was passed in August 2023. This DAP is divided into six individual regions and they are: central region: Dhaka city; northern region: Gazipur City Corporation; eastern region: Kaliganj and Rupganj upazilas; southern region: Narayanganj; south western region: Keraniganj upazila and western region: Savar upazila.

The new DAP proposed to revamp the 547 kilometres of waterway as the “city lifeline”, as well as to include various facilities, health and nutrition-friendly infrastructure, leisure places, environment-friendly walkways and balance between life and livelihoods. It also proposed regional parks, 627 schools and 287 primary health centres.

According to the new DAP, the FAR of the plot is 2.75 beside the 20-feet road in the capital’s Mohammadpur area (ward-31) while the area-based FAR is 2.3. Here population density is 1.9 per katha. So, a building with a maximum area of 8,280 sqft can be built on a 5-katha land in Mohammadpur and 9-10 apartments can be built on it.

As per the new DAP, a building with a maximum area of 4,860 sqft can be built on a 3-katha plot near the road with a width of 16-20 feet in Mirpur-10 and 11. That means it will be a 2-3 storied building. The REHAB proposed to increase FAR to 8,400 sqft building in the new building construction guidelines, and it is passed, a maximum of nine apartments can be built on a single building.

Asked whether Dhaka could be made an inhabitable city if building size is increased, REHAB president Liakat Ali Bhuiyan told Prothom Alo, “High-rise buildings are being constructed in all countries around the world. Dhaka will be more inhabitable if permission is given to construct buildings with more height and areas. Showing insufficient civic amenities as a reason to fix less area or height of a building is irrational. This will lead to filling water-bodies around Dhaka which will ultimately affect the environment.”

“We have made various recommendations including increasing the area of building considering everything to make Dhaka a planned and an inhabitable city.”

* This report appeared in the print and online editions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Hasanul Banna and Shameem Reza