Dhaka devoid of greenery: What are the RAJUK, two city corporations doing?

Whereas there should have been 20 per cent greenery in Dhaka, the capital city has less than 8 per cent of it. But this small amount of greenery is also gradually decreasing due to unplanned construction of concrete structures. Dhaka city lost 6.5 per cent greenery on average between 2002 and 2022, said a study run by the department of urban and regional planning of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). The capital will be devoid of greenery if this continues. Even a view from a plane substantiates how concrete structures have eaten up the greenery.

An livable city needs at least 30-35 per cent areas that is open, green and has waterbodies, said a previous research conducted by the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP). But such open spaces, greenery and waterbodies of 134 sq. kms areas in the capital have decreased significantly in the last 20 years and the concrete structures have increased.

Currently concrete structures cover 82 per cent areas of the capital, the research also said. The amount of water bodies is 4.38 per cent and of the remaining areas, some are open, some have greenery and development activities are on in the other areas.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), Dhaka north and south city corporations, public works department, national housing authority, and Bangladesh Forest Department (BFD) are involved with managing the greenery in Dhaka. But RAJUK and the two city corporations have disagreement about handing over green spaces. The city corporations sometimes introduce commercial activities in the green spaces to generate income.

The green spaces in Dhaka city are also not open to all. People cannot enter such areas as they are enclosed by boundary walls. Speaking about this, Ishrat Islam, professor at BUET, said when national property is handed over, it has to be ensured that everyone can use those. Adopting block-based development methods is necessary for the areas like Purbachal, Bashundhara, which are not completely covered by concrete structures yet. This calls for political will.

Local government minister Tajul Islam remarked that the amount of greenery of Dhaka cannot be compared with other cities around of the world due to large population. But surely we cannot destroy the greenery of Dhaka due to the large population. The green spaces in Dhaka could have been saved if the mega planning about the capital city had been implemented. It is not impossible to increase the foliage in Dhaka and Hatirjheel is the biggest evidence of that. A city with 15 million needs to have more greenery. The planners kept enough greenery and water body when Uttara, Banani and Gulshan areas were set up as residential areas. But those were destroyed through illegal structures later.

Dhaka city will truly turn into a city devoid any greenery if the concerned bodies do not become aware of this. The greenery must be increased if we want to save Dhaka city and do not want to deprive its dwellers from fresh air. There is a relation between high level of air pollution and lack of greenery in Dhaka. The amount of air pollution will increase if the greenery decreases. In the same manner, the amount of air pollution will decrease if the greenery increases.