Realtor opposed to involve city corporations for construction approval.

The country’s realtors on Saturday expressed their deep concern over a government plan to make approval from city corporations mandatory for building constructions in Dhaka in addition to approval from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha.
Such a decision will put the country’s housing sector into a deep crisis, leaders of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh said at a press conference held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the city.
This is because such a decision would create new crises in the housing industry, where the government is striving to create an orderly system and business-friendly environment for new entrepreneurs, who play a strong role in the country’s development.
“So, this decision seems contrary to the government’s initiative as it would create more hassles in the construction sector,” said Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal), president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh. The sector accounts for about 15 per cent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.
Up until 2019, there was a provision in the Dhaka Building Construction Act 2008, requiring developers to obtain clearance from the city corporations to erect any structure with more than 10 storeys.
But in order to expedite the construction of high-rise buildings in the capital, the approval process was then simplified to include just three organisations: Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, and the Civil Aviation Authority.
“But I came to know through the media that the construction of any building, not just multi-storied ones, may soon require prior approval from city corporations,” Kajal said.
During a meeting on February 6, Md Tazul Islam, minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, informed the mayors of Dhaka and Chattogram that individuals and organisations would have to seek permission from the city corporations, alongside the Rajuk, to build structures in Dhaka.
This means that developers would require prior approval from either the Dhaka North City Corporation or Dhaka South City Corporation depending on where the construction would take place.
The move to include city corporations in the approval process was proposed during the meeting, where Islam and the two mayors discussed how to reduce waterlogging in the upcoming monsoon season.
Kajal went on to say that should the decision go through, questions may arise as to how many times approval must be obtained for the construction of a single building.
“Involving the city corporations in the construction approval process will only add more complexities, suffering, harassment, and procrastination while also driving up costs,” he said.