How much longer to wait for an authority

The government is yet to establish a regulatory authority without which the building code cannot be implemented, officials have said.

Experts said there is no alternative to a building code to ensure safety of any establishment or building construction.

In February, the amended rule titled 'Bangladesh National Building Code' (BNBC) was published through a gazette after an 11-year revision process.

According to the rule, Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority (BBRA) has to be established to implement the building code.

Urban experts have said BBRA has to be established in the shortest possible time as it has already been delayed for long due to some legal issues.

Alongside the big cities, sub-district headquarters as well as rural areas now are witnessing construction of high-rise buildings while many of these establishments seem unsafe and risky due to non-compliance with the proper building codes.

General secretary of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners–an organisation of urban experts, Adil Mohammed Khan, told Prothom Alo that the previous building code did not have a specification about its implementing authority.

Existence of an implementing authority is a must to avail the benefits of the amended building code, the urban expert said adding the authority would not only implement the building code but also supervise the compliance of all laws related to planning and building establishments.

Building construction needs to follow all the rules at every stage starting from land development, architecture and construction works.

In Bangladesh, the first building code or rule was formulated in 1993. But the rule had not been published as gazette for the following 13 years due to legal issues. That rule too had no specification about its implementing authority.

The building code got legal status after the Building Construction Act 1952 was amended in 2006.

The government initiated a revision of the building code in 2009. After going through a long procedure, an amended building code was finalised but had not been published in a gazette for several years.

Finally on 11 February, the government published the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) 2020 in a gazette. Building construction across the country now needs to comply with the new rule.

According to the rule, the government will establish an authority–Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority (BBRA) to implement the code.

BBRA will be comprised of one planner, one architect, one civil engineer, one lawyer and one bureaucrat and will act as the top implementing authority under the housing and public works ministry.

Members of the BBRA must have at least 30 years of experience in the related field. The government will appoint the members for three years. One of them will be made the chairman of the authority.

As per the new building code provisions, BBRA offices have to be established at regional and grassroots level.

An urban planner, architect or civil engineer as the building official will head the office.

The official will be selected from the existing government wings and he or she–being part of a building construction committee–will monitor building construction and management related tasks at the respective constituency.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) in Dhaka, the respective Unnayan Kartripakkha in Chattogram, Khulna and Rajshahi will fix the building officials. City corporations and municipalities will be responsible to select their building officials. For localities outside the mentioned areas, public works department’s executive engineers will select the building officials.

The housing and public works secretary, Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker, told Prothom Alo that the formation of BBRA has been initiated.

Selection of the members would be finalised following the feedback by a technical committee, he said adding the committee has already met once virtually and it would require two and more meetings.

“Very soon the regulatory body will be formed,” Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker said.

Professor of urban and regional planning at Jahangirnagar University, Md Akter Mahmud, said the gazette notification on the amended building code consumed huge time.

“The rule will remain on paper if the government delays formation of BBRA,” Mahmud lamented.

*This report appeared on the online and print editions of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Sadiqur Rahman.