What are guidelines for, if not followed?
Though there is a guideline on digging roads in Dhaka, it is not being followed during the work.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) yesterday demanded that the authorities follow road digging guidelines for their works to reduce public suffering.
Speaking at a virtual press conference on "Contemporary Planning and Development Management", the speakers highlighted how it is a failure on the road authorities, city authorities, and contractors' part that road digging projects are undertaken during the months of monsoon, which add tremendously to public sufferings.
"Though there is a guideline on digging roads in Dhaka, it's not being followed at all," said Dr Adil Mohammad Khan, general secretary of BIP.
Dr Adil said according to the guideline, which was prepared in 2003 and revised in 2019, digging work is prohibited during the months of June to October, but in reality, these months keep seeing rampant road digging.
He said there is no co-ordination among the utility service organisations and that they do not submit their yearly plans to the city corporations.
"It's very important to prepare a one-stop co-ordination cell and
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several zone based monitoring cells in this regard. In addition, it's imperative to hold intra-service provider discussions and discussions with locals before digging works are undertaken," Adil said.
He said the city corporations are responsible for reducing public suffering following the Local Government (city corporation) Act 2009, though it often fails to do so.
Identifying the huge shortcomings in road digging project contracts, president of BIP Akter Mahmud said there is a severe lacking in the selection of contractors, quality materials, and finding alternative means to complete a project in case of an emergency.
He suggested ensuring that the Terms of Reference (TOR) are followed by contractors and strengthening project supervision to avoid these issues.
Stressing the need to maintaining professionalism in implementing a project, BIP vice president Muhammad Ariful Islam said many projects cannot be completed timely and within the estimated budget due to lack of professionalism.
"The result is an increase in public suffering and the prolongation of project calendars," he said. He suggested taking public suffering as a key consideration before implementing a project.
Ariful also suggested keeping a provision for penalties to ensure that a project is carried out well.
BIP has already provided a set of recommendations in this regard, which includes submission of working plans by utility service providers to the city corporations at the beginning of a year, speakers said.
Based on the working plans, the city corporations can play the key roles of co-ordinating between the service providers, keeping road digging suspended during rainy season, implementing the road digging guideline, and blacklisting violators.
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