DAP implementation not possible with bureaucratic Rajuk: IPD

The Detailed Area Plan (DAP) 2016–35 for Dhaka Metropolitan Region cannot be implemented with a bureaucratic Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), according to the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD).

Speaking at a dialogue in the capital on Wednesday, senior executives and planners of IPD called for overhauling the existing structure of Rajuk to implement the recently approved megaplan for Dhaka city.

Speakers at the programme, organised by IPD, said establishing a 'Metropolitan Government' as proposed in the DAP is a must for the plan's implementation.

Presenting the keynote essay at the event, IPD Executive Director Adil Mohammed Khan, said the DAP proposes to have representatives of the city corporation from the mayor to other service agencies under the supervision of the chief council. In addition, advisory councils and executive committees have been discussed for the interim period. 

"These will not happen without political goodwill," said Adil Mohammed, who is also a professor of urban and regional planning at Jahangirnagar University.

Describing DAP as a multi-sectoral plan, he said the success of realising the plan will depend on how sincerely other ministries and organisations involved with it work to implement the recommendations. 

Adil Mohammed said if the planning approval and development control wing of Rajuk is not properly strengthened, the proper implementation of land use supervision, mixed-use management, preservation of agricultural land and floodplain areas, etc will not be possible.

The keynote essay also states that the approved DAP includes flat-based and block-based development proposals while discouraging plot-based housing projects in all public and private sectors. The realisation of this proposal can play a role in the planned development of Dhaka city.

However, the essay added that the success rate of these proposals will depend on effective implementation.

Also speaking at the event, DAP Project Director Ashraful Islam said if DAP recommendations are properly implemented, it will be possible to build lakhs of residential units for low-income people in the capital.

IPD Director Mohammad Ariful Islam said urban planning is conducted through a kind of dynamic interaction and the planning strategies can be refined later by using the experience gained during the implementation of the proposals.

However, he added that for the implementation of DAP proposals, the agencies involved must be sincere.