Only 102 among thousands of Ctg high-rise buildings have environmental clearance

Only 102 among thousands of high-rise buildings in the port city Chattogram have clearance certificates from the Department of Environment, according to the Department of Environment data, which means building codes, protection of natural reserves, and precautionary measures against possible natural disasters are widely neglected there.

"Most of the multi-storey buildings in Chattogram are built on sandy soil, which is why they are at a great risk of collapse. Besides, there is the risk of 8 magnitude earthquakes as the port city is located at the intersection of Burma sub-plate," observed Muhammad Abdur Rahman Bhuiyan, director of CUET Institute of Earthquake Engineering Research.

"In such a situation, construction of high-rise buildings without environmental survey is completely suicidal," he told The Business Standard.

Although the exact date of Chattogram buildings is not available at the Chattogram Development Authority, a fire service survey conducted in 2019 revealed that the city accommodates over 1.84 lakh buildings. It, however, did not figure out the number of multi-storied ones.

"In our rough estimation, the number of high-rise buildings has crossed the 10,000 mark as we have been approving such establishments since 2008," said Abu Isa Ansari, town planner at the Chattogram Development Authority, told The Business Standard.

These high-rise buildings were supposed to go through an environmental survey and have clearance certificates from the Department of Environment, as per environment protection laws, but only 102 buildings received the certificates, in reality, according to the environment department data.

"The department firstly checks whether any hill is to be cut or any pond is to be filled in the construction of buildings. Our main goal is to protect the environment," said Mia Mahmudul Haque, Environment Department deputy director for Chattogram.

"It also looks after the establishments after the construction," he told TBS.

Hillol Biswas, director (deputy secretary) at the office, said "Layouts of buildings, nearby spaces, environmental impacts, drainage plans and load bearing issues are crosschecked before awarding environmental clearance certificates."

He said building owners and developers, particularly giant ones, do not follow all rules properly during construction. "Some developers put flat owners in danger."

Mentioning that the Chattogram Development Authority is responsible to check all the required certificates before approving a building construction, he said, "We have recently written to the Authority and requested not to approve high-rise buildings without the permission of the Department of Environment."

When asked about the matter, Chattogram Development Authority Town Planner Abu Isa Ansari said there is a mismatch in the definition of high-rise buildings.

"Some laws define buildings with a height of more than 10 floors as high-rise, while the environment department considers it above six floors."

"Moreover, permissions from 12 agencies are required for constructing a high-rise building, while we can crosscheck few ones. The non-objection of civil aviation authorities is our key priority," he told TBS and added that people can apply for other clearance even after their approval. 

"Anyone who lack required permission can be fined."

Flat-owners in troubled water

The Department of Environment often raids buildings and fine buildings or flat-owners for not having environmental clearance certificates. In January, 14 buildings were fined Tk36 lakh for the reason, Hillol Biswas said.

"The fines, however, cannot compensate for environmental damages. We will urge all to be aware of the environment," he added.

Meanwhile, flat owners said they are in troubled water over the lack of required certificates for their establishments. "I bought a flat from a developer company with all my savings. The developer then said it took all necessary clearances, but the claim was not true," Nizam Uddin, a resident of SM Heritage in the Yakub Future Park residential area, told TBS.

"Now, I have been fined for lack of environmental clearance," he regretted and urged people to cross-check clearance certificates before buying flats.

Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh Vice President Md Abdul Qayum Chowdhury said environment clearance should be obtained before the Chattogram Development Authority approvals.

"It is not possible for flat owners to bear the burden of getting environmental clearance four to five years after their purchases. It is also unethical for developers or building owners to pass the burden to flat-buyers. "We will instruct our members [developers] to ensure environmental clearance before starting construction work."