PM's order goes unheeded

Even six months after the prime minister's directives, Rajuk is yet to take any initiative to complete demarcation of Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara Lake and declare the lake area as a ' project site'.

In the absence of a comprehensive plan to develop the lake and due to lack of demarcation, illegal encroachments on it and secret allotment of plots through underhand deals continued, sources alleged.

Besides, pollution of lake water due to various factors including 'sedimentation and toxic contamination' have damaged essential features of the lake, town planners and environmentalists say.

Over the last 20 years, Rajuk created at least three rows of plots along the original edge of the lake in the name of different development projects. Earlier, Rajuk had taken up some schemes to build roads and walkways along the lakeside, but the initiatives just ended in creating new plots and those were later allotted to influential people, residents of the area said.

Sources in the Ministry of Housing and Public Works and Rajuk said some top officials of Rajuk are directly involved in such malpractice and they continued this for years using their 'political connection'.

When contacted, Rajuk Chairman Iqbaluddin Chowdhury denied the allegations and said no such thing happened in recent months, especially after he took over last year.

He said he had recently cancelled creation of six plots at Road --121 and 'there is no scope to create new plots'.

Asked why demarcation of the lake is not being completed despite directives from the prime minister on June 19 last year, the chairman said they would conduct a survey in three to four months for completing demarcation.

But town planners said demarcation of the lake would require hardly one month. They expressed their surprise why Rajuk is taking such a long time for this.

They also said Rajuk's Tk 70crore project for building walkways along the lake in some areas is virtually a 'trick' to create new plots. The project has 'no integrated approach' to develop the lake, involving the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), the WASA and local stakeholders.

The Rajuk chairman however said the initiative has been taken to protect the lake, 'not to destroy it'.

In 2000, a Tk 120-crore lake development project with an integrated approach was taken up to save the lake from encroachments, pollution and other harmful acts. The first phase of the project which included appointment of consultant, preparing layout design and chalking out ways of removing illegal structures was completed smoothly. But later the process came to a halt due to various 'unnecessary steps' in this regard, sources said.

Talking to The Daily Star, local people demanded their involvement in the process of development of the lake. They also demanded immediate demarcation and declaration of the lake area as a 'project site'.

They suggested formation of a task force or such a body involving representatives from different ministries and departments concerned, environment activists, civil society members and local people for development of the lake.

The locals sought the prime minister's intervention in this regard.