There has been a difference of opinion between urban planners and real estate traders over the revision of Dhaka's master plan, Detailed Area Plan (DAP). As a result, the implementation of various arrangements to build a livable city according to DAP has been practically stalled. Although two and a half years have passed since this master plan was gazetted, there has been no significant progress in its implementation.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs related to the sector have blamed DAP for the stagnation of the housing industry and related linkage industries and the current stagnation of the country's economy. According to them, the pace of public-private infrastructure projects has slowed down due to the problems related to the discriminatory DAP and building construction rules.
This has led to serious stagnation in the housing industry and related linkage industries. Production has decreased in about 200 related linkage industries. Sales in some industries have decreased by abnormally. Industrial owners are being forced to lay off workers to reduce losses. If this situation continues, the unemployment rate will increase, and the country's economy will be affected.
According to sources, the positions of urban planners and real estate traders are at odds on the DAP amendment issue. Both sides are giving various arguments. Here, one is a professional group and the other is concerned with the development of the city. The government cannot work without excluding anyone. For this reason, those in charge are trying to find a logical solution to the issue by talking to everyone.
Although the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) is in favour of DAP amendment, urban planners say that under pressure from the business groups in the housing sector, the government is amending DAP to further lower the livability of Dhaka by increasing the height of buildings.
The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) is revising the DAP. This will increase the height of buildings in different areas of the capital by three to four floors. Along with this, the authority is also planning to increase the area and number of units of the buildings.
According to sources, the RAJUK has formulated a master plan to make the capital Dhaka a planned, livable and environmentally friendly city.
This master plan is called the Detailed Area Plan or DAP. It was gazetted in 2022, but after a year, technical opinions were ignored and a one-time amendment was made in 2023 under pressure from real estate traders.
After that, although RAJUK was moving forward with the process of implementing the master plan, after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, real estate traders again demanded amendment, calling the existing DAP discriminatory. Under pressure from various sides, RAJUK took a stand in favor of the demands of real estate traders and took the DAP amendment process to the final stage. Although it was kept with urban planners in the first phase of this process, RAJUK moved forward by excluding them midway.
Various obstacles have paralyzed the real estate industry. Landowners, real estate traders, and workers involved in this industry were hoping that the discriminatory DAP would be amended. But it has been stalled due to the obstacles/objections of planners, fueled by a special group. This later led to disagreements among the advisers. And so the DAP amendment of the RAJUK is being postponed again and again. Although a meeting of the Advisory Council Committee was held on March 19 to finalize the amendments to the DAP, not everyone could agree on the amendment. As a result, the 7-member committee decided to review the DAP again in the meeting that day.
According to them, this change will bring very positive results for landowners and real estate traders, but it will be negative for the livability of the city. As a result of this decision, many more people will come to the capital which will destroy the city's environment.
According to RAJUK sources, there were more than 350 density zones in the existing DAP. Through this, the height, area and unit of the building have been determined in the light of the existing roads, open spaces and civic services of the entire RAJUK area. However, under pressure from landowners and real estate traders, the density zone has been reduced to 65. As a result, the floor area ratio or FAR of the building will increase by 2 to 3 times in most areas. At the same rate, the area and unit of the building will also increase. As a result, the height of the building will increase from 3 to 4 floors depending on the area.
Experts say that according to international standards of urban planning, although the population is supposed to be 100 to 150 people per acre, there are 400 to 500 people in Dhaka; this population density will increase several times through the DAP amendment. In addition, according to international standards, 20 to 25 thousand people are supposed to live per square kilometer. However, in the case of Dhaka, it has already exceeded 50 thousand.
Former president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), Mohammad Fazle Reza Sumon, said, "No opinion of urban planners and city dwellers was taken in this amendment to increase the height of buildings ignoring the livability of Dhaka under pressure from vested interests. The rules should not be amended in this way for the benefit of a special group."
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) president Wahiduzzaman said, "By implementing this discriminatory DAP, a certain group wants to remove citizens from Dhaka. If the housing sector is destroyed, many industries and factories will close and a large number of people will become unemployed."
