55 govt agencies working in Dhaka city: World Bank
Empowering local government institutions with city governance system is key to planned urbanisation in the capital and adjoining cities, said Selina Hayat Ivy, mayor of Narayanganj City Corporation.
“As a city corporation authority, we cannot implement the urbanisation master plan, as multiple other government agencies develop schemes without coordination,” she said while speaking at a forum organised by the World Bank (WB) at a Dhaka hotel yesterday.
Despite a government direction stating that development activities undertaken by various agencies be coordinated by the city mayor, authorities do not seem to care about the mayor’s coordinating role, she said.
Head of various government agencies do not even turn up for coordination meeting, convened by the mayor, apparently because they are accountable to their respective ministers, she said at the forum on ‘Transforming Dhaka to a livable, prosperous and resilient megacity”.
Taqsem A Khan, managing director of Dhaka Wasa, said, “Bureaucratic complications and political, business groups with vested interest -- who are opposed to change -- are barriers to making Dhaka a livable city.”
Mercy Tembon, country director of World Bank Bangladesh, said, “I cannot agree more to the idea of city government... It is exactly what we need to pursue through a collective platform.”
Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam and Gazipur City Mayor Jahangir Alam echoed Ivy, saying that without the coordination of authorities and strict land zoning plan, a planed city is not possible.
Md Tajul Islam, minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives, said that many capital-intensive structural facilities are being implemented in Dhaka without taking into consideration how a modern megacity should be planned and developed.
“It is time we reverse the trend,” he said, adding that basic services like employment opportunities, education and healthcare should be developed in rural areas.
Citing old information, SM Rezaul Karim, minister for housing and public works, said that 66 percent of the buildings in Dhaka city corporation area are either in violation of approved plan or without any approval.
Referring to the statistic, Mayor Ivy said this was a stark pointer that the capital city development regulator Rajuk is busy with impending development schemes, not enforcing regulations.
John Roome, regional director for sustainable development at World Bank, in a presentation said that there are around 55 government agencies working in Dhaka city -- a number way above than that in Kolkata, Jakarta and Manila.
Bangladesh’s economic success centres on Dhaka’s success, he said.
Dhaka’s economic output falls short of what can be expected of a metropolitan city of this size and population. Dhaka’s economy generates USD 55 million per square kilometre annually compared to Bangkok’s $88 million and Singapore’s $269 million, he added.
Currently, Dhaka metropolitan accounts for 10 percent of the nation’s population and 20 percent of the GDP.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of Power and Participation Research Centre and chairman of Brac, who moderated the forum, said Dhaka should spearhead the economic trajectory of Bangladesh with transition of cheap labour narrative to skilled labour.
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