Formulate policy to halt unplanned construction

The construction boom of housing projects in the country's suburban areas will lead to an acute shortage of arable land and water bodies if the government does not come up with a well thought-out policy to control the unplanned constructions, said experts.

Currently, Bangladesh is losing agricultural land at a rate of nearly 1 percent a year, according to a report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

Data from the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) shows that over the course of 24 years before 2000, the country was losing arable land at an annual rate of 13,413 hectares. But since 2000, the rate has jumped to 68,690 hectares a year.

A survey, led by Abul Barakat, professor of economics at Dhaka University, found that some 2,096 bighas of farmland and water bodies were lost to non-agricultural uses a day since 2003.

Prof Nazrul Islam, an eminent urban planner, told the news agency that real estate companies are constructing housing projects without the government's permission, for which the recovery of the land or the rivers will become difficult.

He suggested that the government come up with a policy that only high-level lands can be used to construct residential and commercial buildings, not just in Dhaka, but throughout the country.

It is important to have a law regarding the use of land, he said, adding, “The proposed 'City and Area Planning Act 2017' is a positive step by the government in this direction, but it is yet to be passed by parliament."

The draft law was proposed on behalf of the Local Government Engineering Department, but it only went through an initial cabinet meeting approval.

This act, Nazrul thinks, will ease the land grabbing culture to some extent.

Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said if someone intends to construct a house even at a village, he or she would have to take permission. The “City and Area Planning Act 2017” has been proposed in this regard.

He said the draft act has been submitted to the law ministry, where it will be subject to a vetting process, after which it will be placed at a cabinet meeting for the final approval.

The cabinet in a meeting on March 20 gave approval in principle to the draft act, which included a provision of five years rigorous imprisonment and fine of maximum Tk 5 lakh for those who would be found to have violated the law.

The Urban Development Director (UDD) will oversee the implementation of the act under his ministry.

Shahid Ullah Khandaker, housing and public works secretary, said once the law is passed, effective steps can be taken to direct which land will be suitable for agriculture and non-agricultural purposes.

He said an experimental implementation process is already underway in Mymensingh, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong's Mirsarai. Once successful, it will be implemented at district, upazila and union levels.