What is the point of RAJUK if illegal buildings are constructed?

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) was established for the planned development of Dhaka city. But in reality Dhaka is one of the most unplanned and uninhabitable cities in the world.

At a roundtable meeting organised by a private TV channel last Wednesday, in the presence of RAJUK's top officials, the inconsistency between the words and actions of the organisation came to the fore. Engineer Iqbal Habib pointed out that 95 per cent of buildings in Dhaka city are illegal. If this arbitrariness continues in the construction of buildings, then what is the need for RAJUK?

Rizwana Hasan, chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, said that it is not possible to make Dhaka habitable with the capacity of RAJUK. The argument made by the RAJUK chairman Anisur Rahman Miah following the remark is quite lame. He said, it is unimaginable to think that RAJUK will provide a planned city with such a massive influx of people to Dhaka city.

Naturally, the question arises, what is RAJUK’s responsibility? RAJUK has extended their scope of work till Purbachal. RAJUK faced the same problem that usually arises will any expansion without proper planning. They could not implement the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) adopted more than a decade ago. This policy has been repeatedly changed under the pressure of interested parties.

RAJUK chairman, however, tried to defend himself by putting some of the blame on the corruption of the engineers. According to him, engineers are also responsible for irregularities in the construction of buildings. The question is, if an engineer commits irregularities while constructing a building, it is the responsibility of RAJUK to supervise it. Why can't they do it? RAJUK has to take the responsibility. For example, the responsibility of RAJUK's failure and irregularities rests with the ministry and the government.

In the meeting, local government minister Tajul Islam pointed out that there are 1 to 5 per cent errors in the DAP Act and advised not to bring forward only negative issues. Negative things can resolved only through positive action not by words or hiding failures. There have been serious allegations over the years about RAJUK’s activities. But unfortunately there is no effective investigation or action taken against those responsible.

The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in building construction was also discussed in the roundtable meeting. The provision of building height approval based on road width and civic amenities is a good policy. But RAJUK must fulfil its responsibility to see whether this provision is followed properly. Otherwise, the policy will only remain on paper.

The government must have a proper plan so that Dhaka does not have too much influx of people. The reasons behind the Dhaka-centric migration must be addressed. Decentralisation must be implemented. The secretariat may be located in the capital city. But why should all government offices and department headquarters be in Dhaka?

To make Dhaka livable, the pressure of extra population on it must be reduced. The new suburbs that the government had built earlier to reduce the pressure on Dhaka, cannot be functional due to lack of proper infrastructure facilities.