Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and its chairman should be empowered to control and regulate all planning and development activities in the capital city, RAJUK chairman Nurul Huda said on Thursday.
Speaking at workshop he said that RAJUK and its chairmen needed greater authority to carry out their assigned responsibilities.
There should also be a government agency to ensure coordination of the activities of all the agencies involved in development of the city to avoid duplication of work, he suggested.
He said that the ministry of housing and public works could take the responsibility of coordination among the development agencies.
RAJUK and Asian Development Bank jointly organised the workshop on ‘Strengthening Regional Planning and Governance with Special Reference to Dhaka Metropolitan Region’ at a city hotel.
The team leader of Urban and Regional Planning Specialists of the SRPG project, JR Wood in his study paper said the RAJUK would have to work to regain the trust and confidence of the public, the civil society and the other development agencies by ensuring transparency.
He also underscored the need for immediate intervention from the other ministries, development agencies and the civil society to address the problems facing the city.
The workshop seeks to develop an institutional basis for improving RAJUK’s planning capacity and urban governance.
Most of the discussants laid emphasis on ensuring coordination among various government agencies involved in the development of the capital city.
They said the lack of coordination among the government agencies has resulted in the development of an unplanned Dhaka.
Urban governance is a complicated issue, said state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan.
It is more complex in case of Dhaka city as about 50 agencies are involved in its development, each with its own plans, he said.
Overlapping responsibilities of so many development agencies is one of the constraints for planned development of the city of Dhaka, Mannan said.
RAJUK chairman said the housing and public works ministry could take the responsibility of ensuring coordination among all the agencies.
He said that the status of RAJUK chairman should be upgraded so that he could control and regulate all planning and development activities in the capital city.
He also suggested for amending the Town Improvement Act of 1953 on the basis of which RAJUK was created and functions.
He blamed delays in adopting a master plan for the city for its unplanned development.
He requested everyone to follow the Detailed Area Plan of the city to ensure its sustainable development.
He also said the RAJUK started preparing the new DAP for keeping the city’s future perspective from 2016 to 2035 in view.
-With New Age input
