Why the lax institutional supervision?

It seems that the matter of public safety features very low on the list of priorities of various ministries and their subordinate agencies. This is particularly so in the case of the ministry of housing and public works, whose failure to exercise regular and strict watch over Rajuk, one of its auxiliary agencies, has resulted in many disasters, like building collapse and outbreak of fire in the capital causing heavy fatalities. This reality was starkly exposed in a report in this paper that informs us that not only has the said ministry not performed its regulatory role with due diligence, even the parliamentary standing committee responsible for oversight of the ministry's work has not held it to account for its failure to do its mandated tasks. It is shocking that 71 percent of a total of 3897 buildings in the eight Rajuk zones are in breach of the stipulations, and Rajuk has done precious little about it and so has the ministry.

One wonders why this reluctance on the part of the housing ministry to hold a very vital agency like Rajuk accountable for its failure to take measures against the countless anomalies in building construction in Dhaka city, in spite of it being fully aware of the state in this regard. After all, what is the purpose of the ministry's going through the monthly ritual of holding a review meeting of Rajuk's plans and regulatory actions and the various decisions that Rajuk board takes if there is no, or at most perfunctory, follow-up actions? It is shocking that the lead agency responsible to ensure that the buildings are safe for habitation—and that the deviants are taken to task for breach of rules—should flout their responsibility to the detriment of public safety with complete impunity.

Accidents can and do occur, but if that is due to deliberate dereliction of duty, then no one involved in the process of the work can avoid culpability in the loss of lives and property.