A ludicrous excuse
We are taken aback by the public works secretary's recent remark that the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) for Dhaka has been altered because no one wanted to comply with its original version. We would like to know who did not want to comply with the plan and why. And, will the authorities concerned change the plan every time a vested group refuses to comply with it? It is the authorities' duty to ensure that everyone complies with the plan. To suggest otherwise would amount to an abdication of responsibility.
It's only normal that some wouldn't like a plan that seeks to improve a city as disorderly as Dhaka, but that shouldn't stop the authorities from implementing it.
The DAP, which is currently held back in the name of "final review," took years of hard work and numerous inputs from experts and relevant public agencies to be finalised. Yet, a ministerial committee responsible for implementing it accepted 200 applications overriding the original plan, excluding recommendations to preserve wetlands and arable lands. Now we are offered a pathetic excuse, which is the last thing the city needs right now.
Dhaka has consistently been ranked as one of the worst cities in the world, oftentimes drawing a parallel with war-ravaged cities like Damascus. Dubbed "the great symbol of 21st-century urban dysfunction," the capital requires thorough planning and vigorous implementation to become a city worth living in.
The DAP remains to be the only viable plan available that seeks to transform the city. To distort it to such an extent will impair the plan to turn Dhaka into a liveable city. We, therefore, call on the authorities concerned to refrain from weakening the DAP and focus on implementing it fully.
Comments