New Master Plan for capital in the offing [ Tritiyo Matra News ]

New Master Plan for capital in the offing

Local August 04, 2015

The government recently notified in the official gazette a draft Master Plan spelling out the guidelines for the development of the capital over the next two decades beginning 2016.
The new Master Plan earmarks a vast growth management area, which would swallow crop lands and flood flow zones in and around the capital. It would repeal the existing Master Plan, said the notification.
Affected people and objectors have been requested to submit their objections or recommendations to RAJUK’s town planner within 60 days from July 7, when the draft Master plan was notified in the official gazette.
The draft Master Plan seeks to legalize several housing facilities, under construction or already built flouting the existing Master Plan and the Detailed Area Plan for the capital.
The consultants who prepared the master plan for 2016-2035 raised the question how long such unauthorized constructions would be legalized due to recurrent failure of the regulating authorities.
They recorded their reservations in the draft master plan itself.
In their review, they depicted an alarming picture of construction activities proceeding in violation of the spatial, environmental and socio-economic guidelines laid down in the existing Master Plan.
Out of 31 guidelines in the outgoing Master Plan only eight were partially followed, resulting in unplanned development and growth of the capital, they pointed out.
They pointed out that
in violation of the guidelines in the existing Master Plan, 30 per cent of the flood flow zones in the capital and along the Shitalakhya, Balu, Turag, Buriganga and Dhaleshwari rivers had been grabbed by influential quarters.
They cited the examples of construction of 2,827 structures many of them by developers, a private medical college, an army graveyard and Mass Grave Memorial at Dhaka Uddyan on Turag River’s bank though the existing Master plan and the DAP prohibited any development activities on this flood flow zone.
They also pointed out that the government took no steps to protect the retention ponds from as prescribed by the existing Master Plan and the DAP.
They said that the DAP’s land use zoning plan for the capital had been severely compromised with the authorities looked the other way as developers and influential quarters constructed building flouting the land use zoning plane.
It resulted in unplanned development and spatial growth of the capital, they pointed out.
The newly earmarked growth management area would include Gachcha to Kayaltiya and Konabari in Gazipur, Dhamsona, Ashulia, Hemayetpur and Aminbazar under Savar, areas around Turag, Uttara 3rd Phase, Demra, Amulia, Badda, Daksin Khan, Uttar Khan, Ajampur, areas around the Jhilmeel project, Zinjira, Keraniganj, Kutubpur, the areas around Purbachal and Golakandail in Rupganj upazila.
The new plan identifies Narayanganj city, Gazipur old municipal area, Tongi old municipal are, Savar, Tarabo municipal area, Jhilmeel, Siddirganj and Purbachal New Town as the capital’s suburbs.
RAJUK town planner Md Sirajul Islam told New Age that the consultants identified the vast growth management area considering the development activities taking place there.
He said earmarking growth management areas would facilitate people in getting RAJUK’s approval to construction plans.
Saman Corporation and Han-A Urban Research Institute of Korea, Sheltech and DevCon of Bangladesh prepared the draft master plan.
In the light of the new master plan a new DAP is under preparation for the next two decades.