Frame nat'l policy for balanced urbanisation

Environmentalists and urban planners at a roundtable yesterday stressed the need for formulating a national urbanisation policy that would ensure balanced growth of urban areas in the country.
The roundtable titled 'Developing Small and Medium Size Towns for Sustainable Urbanisation in Bangladesh' was organised jointly by Urban and Regional Planning Department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and Paribesh Bachao Andolon (Save the Environment Movement) at ITN Seminar Room on Buet campus.
In his keynote paper, Dean of Architecture and Planning Dr Sarwar Jahan said almost 55 percent of total urban population is concentrated in four metropolitan cities Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Sylhet.
"People think that stopping rural people's onrush to urban areas is the only solution to urban problems. But the rate of urbanisation is positively related to pace of development," he added.
Citing studies, he said productivity of urban people is much more higher than the rural people.
If the pace of development is high, so would be the rate of urbanisation, he added.
Dr Sarwar said in 1974, the rate of urbanisation in Bangladesh was 8.21 percent and now this rate is approximately 26 percent.
Since most of the services are Dhaka-centred, people from remote areas rush towards Dhaka. But this onrush cannot be stopped forcefully, he said.
If the government and other agencies can reach their services to remote areas, people's demand would be satisfied and consequently migration from remote areas to metropolitan areas would be reduced, he added.
Dr Sarwar suggested the government to encourage urbanisation by setting up centers at upazila, district, region and metropolitan areas and ensure availability of government and non-government services there.
Besides, the government's development budget should also be distributed evenly so that people living outside the metropolitan areas get its benefits, he added.
To gain positive effects of urbanisation, Bangladesh should frame a national policy without delay, he opined.
Speaking at the programme, Buet Vice-chancellor Prof AMM Shafiullah said it has become a norm to address the problems of city dwellers when they arise.
But policy makers should contemplate what sort of problems city-dwellers might face in future and address those problems before any city develops at its fullest, he added.
Convener of Paribesh Bachao Andolon Abu Naser Khan moderated the programme which was also addressed by Chairman of Regional and Urban Planning Department Prof Rokhsana Hafiz and Maruf Rahman of Work for Better Bangladesh Trust.