Speakers, including urban planners, on Wednesday said that the recent revised proposals for Dhaka鈥檚 Detailed Area Plan published by Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha ignored the city鈥檚 livability, civic amenities, and the environment while prioritising the commercial interests of housing traders.聽聽
They made the observation at an online discussion organised by the Institute for Planning and Development on planning and development review, titled 鈥榃hose Interests Drive the Repeated Revisions of DAP: IPD鈥檚 Observations.鈥�
They alleged that initiatives to revise the DAP for 2022鈥�2035 twice within just two years of its finalisation were driven by pressure from business and vested interest groups.
The IDP president, Adil Muhammad Khan, said in his keynote speech that RAJUK鈥檚 revised proposal for the DAP focused solely on increasing the size and height of buildings, neglecting crucial environmental issues, including protecting floodplains, wetlands, and agricultural land.聽
He alleged that housing traders and a few professionals called for the cancellation or suspension of the DAP solely to increase the Floor Area Ratio, also known as FAR, for building construction.
鈥楾he revised proposal鈥檚 area-based and block-based FAR standards could further jeopardise Dhaka鈥檚 livability as they fail to adhere to urban planning principles aimed at creating a livable city,鈥� he added.
Akter Mahmud, a professor at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at Jahangirnagar University, said that several policymakers at Rajuk fail to recognise the importance of urban planning, resulting in their surrender to the unjust demands of vested interest groups.
The professor emphasised that decisions must prioritise public welfare to improve Dhaka鈥檚 livability.聽
Farhadur Reza, an associate professor at the JU, emphasised the need to conduct research on the impact of a FAR value exceeding three in an area and evaluate how effective the roads would remain.聽聽
To address the problems of Dhaka, the DAP must be revised using sustainable planning strategies and approaches that prioritise public interest, livability, and environmental preservation, the speakers said.