Bureaucratic mess fueling mismanagement in Dhaka: Rehman Sobhan

Noted economist and Chairman of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Professor Rehman Sobhan has said the governance of Dhaka city involves multiple authorities and a lack of coordination among these entities has given rise to bureaucratic complications, contributing to a persistent state of mismanagement.

"Dhaka city's management is choked by bureaucratic chaos. The city mayors' hands are tied by the whims of the local government ministry, which holds the power to revoke their very roles. This stranglehold stifles any chance of meaningful progress for the city and its residents," he said while addressing a conference on urbanisation as the chief guest at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) in the capital on Saturday. 

Prof Sobhan said city mayors in America wield the reins of police, water, communications, and more. Not so in Bangladesh. Compared to New York City's mayor, Dhaka's counterparts are powerless to enact meaningful changes.

"When the BNP came to power in 1991, Mohammad Hanif and ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury were the mayors of Dhaka and Chattogram cities, respectively. I talked to Mayor Hanif about the city planning, but nothing happened. Then I realised that mayors do not really have the power to change anything," he said.

"The city mayors' hands are tied by the whims of the local government ministry, which holds the power to revoke their very roles. This stranglehold stifles any chance of meaningful progress for the city and its residents"

Prof Rehman Sobhan, Chairman, CPD

Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) and Bangladesh Environment Network organised the event titled "Sustainable Urbanisation: Problems and Solutions."

Bapa Vice President Nazrul Islam presented the main article, with architect and Bapa Vice President Iqbal Habib acting as moderator.

Highlighting Dhaka's primary challenge, Rehman Sobhan pointed out the filling up of all its reservoirs, leading to complications in the drainage system. 

"Currently, around 60% of parliamentarians are identified as businessmen. I do not know how many of them are involved in the housing development sector. However, uncoordinated urbanisation is exacerbating traffic congestion in the city," Professor Sobhan said.

Presenting the keynote, Bapa Vice President Nazrul Islam said, the urbanisation rate in the country was 8.87% in 1974, which increased fivefold in 2023 to 39.71%. Dhaka tops in urbanisation with Sylhet being the slowest.

After independence, the urban population of Bangladesh increased almost 10 times. About one-third of them are residents of Dhaka city, he said.

Nazrul Islam said Bangladesh stands among the leading countries with a significant proportion of its total urban population residing in large cities. In Bangladesh, this ratio is approximately 32%, whereas in China, only 3.10% of the total urban population resides in major cities. The corresponding figures are 6% for India and 23.2% for Vietnam.

He further said developing the essential infrastructure to accommodate the growing urban population was not possible in Dhaka. The transportation sector has been adversely affected by an insufficient road system. 

While smooth movement in the city necessitates allocating 25% of the total area to roads, Dhaka only has 8% designated for this purpose, and 52% of the roads are not suitable for motor vehicles. That is why traffic congestion is rising, Nazrul Islam added.

In the speech of the special guest, Professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies, said Bangladesh needs a separate ministry focused on urban development.

"Who is in charge of urban development among the 36 new ministers in the country? The word 'urban' is not present among the names of the ministries. There is 'local government', 'rural development' and 'public works.' But who is in charge of urban development?" Nazrul Silam added.

Bapa President Professor Nur Mohammad Talukdar said, "Our biggest problem is lack of coordination [among various authorities of Dhaka]. Those who would encourage the people of the city to obey the law are the ones who break the law. When you go out on the road, you can see that the cars of the ministers are driving the wrong way."