The city dwellers have accused development authority RAJUK of not taking actions against the irregularities in the buildings that are undergoing construction, violating the rules.
They claim that the development authority officials are allowing the construction of risky building in exchange for hefty amount of money.
Admitting their limitations, RAJUK claimed that they take actions upon receiving complaints. They claim to be short on manpower.
Responding to queries about the allegations, RAJUK official Asma Ul Husna said that they take the complaints very seriously.
“We do have limitations. Sometimes, during eviction the police is unavailable. We write to the police for forces for our eviction process but even one-fourth of our requirements are not met,” she told Bangla Tribune.
She added that if they ask for police forces for 15-20 days, only 4-5 are granted.
On the other hand police denied the claims saying that the development authority does not bother to keep in touch.
However, experts say that RAJUK’s excuse of manpower shortage is not a valid one. According to them, if honest intentions are there, lack of manpower should not be a hindrance in getting the work done.
“If RAJUK takes a strong stance than then it’s not possible to construct buildings beyond the approved plan,” said Mobassher Hassan, former President of Institute of Architects Bangladesh.
Experts feel it’s possible to reduce the occurrence of going beyond the approved design if the rule breakers are given exemplary punishment.
The rule book dictates, while constructing a building, 20 foot space must be left for roads. However, more often than not, this rule is blatantly ignored.
A local social welfare organization in North Goran wrote to the RAJUK chairman on Jan 20, complaining that a resident had violated the aforementioned rule. A Abdur Rahman of 338/2 of North Goran was sued under the Building Construction Act but with a year gone after the complaint was filed, RAJUK is yet to take any action against him.
Meanwhile, complaints have come up against them of not taking actions against hundreds of buildings which are being built well beyond the approved number of floors.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief Ministry listed 72,000 buildings in Dhaka that are risky, most of which were built without following the approved plan.
According to a 2011 survey, among the 2,193 government buildings in Dhaka, 59 percent are prone to damage from earthquakes. Another survey in 2013 marked 321 buildings as risky.
Mobasshar Hassan said that rules are broken even during the approval of plans and that the development authority won’t even be able to provide the details of the 72 risky buildings.
Despite the many unapproved buildings in the city, people familiar with the matter alleged that RAJUK has no intention of evicting those. Moreover, allegations of hefty amount of bribery have come up against the officials.
Bangladesh Institute of Planners General Secretary Adil Mohammad Khan said that there is no lacking in the law, neither is RAJUK absolutely short of manpower. A strong stance on their part can make all the difference.