Area-wise schooling for a better Dhaka

In the new Detailed Area Plan (DAP), the government has proposed a concept that may very well usher in a liveable and sustainable Dhaka city, one free of traffic jams: "school districts".

According to the plan, the authorities have suggested building 627 schools, 285 colleges, and 287 hospitals. Students will have to be admitted to schools near their residences. After this is implemented, further construction of institutions will be limited.

"We will assess the necessity of educational institutions in a particular area. If new schools or colleges are required -- which will be analysed based on an area's population -- they will be built there," said Md Ashraful Islam, DAP project director.

Ashraf said the education ministry will have to play a vital role in this regard, and the relevant authority will provide a guideline based on DAP, through the plan's review committee, which will also be involved in implementation.

This committee, headed by Local Government and Rural Development Minister Md Tazul Islam, will hold meetings every three to five months.

At a programme yesterday at Press Institute of Bangladesh, Tazul sought everyone's support to implement the new DAP.

Adil Mohammad Khan, former general secretary of Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said this initiative is crucial to resolve the current situation, but land and funds are required under separate projects for the concept's implementation. He said local governments will have to play a vital role to find land and implement the plan.

"Only then will this DAP be successful."

The government, on August 23, published the gazette notification for the 20-year (2016-2035) DAP, which covers 1,528 square km of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk).

The new DAP has been prepared by dividing the project area into six distinct main regions and 75 sub-regions.

To ensure proper use of land, different areas have been identified as residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, institutional, waterbody, forest, open space, and flood-prone.

In the DAP, there is also a proposal for "density zoning". The government has fixed the floor area ratio (FAR) based on the characteristics of an area.

FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) and the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.

This means a developed area will get a higher FAR than an unplanned one to construct a building. Unplanned areas with low FAR will have to keep more open spaces around their constructed buildings.

"Earlier, the FAR was the same for every area, but now, it will be ward-based. Areas that are well planned, like Wari, Mirpur, Jhilmil, Gulshan, Banani, Baridhara, Pallabi and Lalmatia, will get higher FAR than unplanned ones like Adabor, Badda, Jafrabad and Moghbazar," Ashraf said.

To improve Dhaka's connectivity with nearby cities, DAP also proposes six metro rails, two bus rapid transits (BRT), six elevated expressways, two main roads parallel to the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, ring roads, and circular waterways.

DAP recommends 13 inter-city bus terminals around Dhaka and two truck terminals.

It also proposes a "blue network". This network will be created by linking rivers, canals and other natural water bodies. A specific proposal is there to take immediate steps to make a waterway network stretching for 574 km.

The plan also talks about developing 23 canals to make them recreational hubs, by recovering them from grabbers and enhancing their aesthetics.

According to DAP, only 0.9 percent of Dhaka's total space comprises open spaces. To make the city environment-friendly, it suggests five large regional parks, 55 water parks, 13 large eco parks (including Bhawal forest), and 13 other parks and playgrounds.

DAP also suggests constructing a park on 425 acres of land in Keraniganj.

It also proposes an urban-redevelopment project by identifying different sites in Old Dhaka and ensuring basic facilities there.

DAP also recommends block-based housing instead of plot-based development.

The main objective of block-based housing is to construct high-rise buildings by incorporating relatively small plots and keeping sufficient open spaces. This will save lowlands and farmlands and ensure efficient urbanisation, said Ashraf.

As there is a shortage of land, this housing initiative is essential, because the best use of land can be ensured.

Ashraf said many areas were identified as flood flow zones earlier, like Chandrima Udyan and adjoining areas of Bosila. Development works were done at such places in 1988, and by the time DAP 2010 was prepared, multi-storey buildings were already standing there.

"It is tough to recover these areas by demolishing the structures. In the new DAP, we have proposed these places be residential zones but did not consider the structures to be legal. We have imposed a penalty for such a building to be legalised, based on construction rules," he said.

The amount of penalty is currently low. "But we have suggested increasing it," he added.

They have recommended forming a committee to fix the penalty. This penalised amount will be used to ensure civic facilities in areas, he said.

Asked how much flood flow zones will be lost due to the conditional approval, he said it is difficult to figure that out, but it can be around five percent.

Regarding flood flow zones, Adil, also executive director of Institute for Planning and Development, said it is an alarming sign, as others will be encouraged to construct structures there if high penalties are not taken.