Proper housing for the people living in urban poverty has become a prerequisite to achieve sustainable development goal or SDG-11, and ensure planned urbanisation and continued economic progress of the country, experts said here on Sunday.
Experts and public representatives expressed these views at a programme titled ‘National convention on housing finance for urban poor’ organised at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center.
The speakers focused on stronger collaboration between the government and non-governmental agencies and involving mayors, other public representatives and other relevant actors to promote urban planning for people living in urban poverty and providing them with housing loan services.
BRAC Urban Development Programme (UDP) organised the daylong event with co-organisers National Housing Authority, Urban Development Directorate, Municipal Association of Bangladesh (MAB), Bangladesh Institute of Planners and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD).
Every year more people are traveling to urban settlements in search of a better livelihood and every year over 5 lakh people who come to live in the Dhaka city add to its already overwhelming population, they said.
While the population of the capital city is increasing every day, one in every three of its inhabitants who lives in
the slums are deprived of basic facilities. Currently, there is a shortage of 60 lakh units of houses in the whole urban areas across the country.
Three housing models for people living in urban poverty were presented; one of which was BRAC’s community-led housing model and two separate low-income housing models, created by the UNDP and the National Housing Authority.
Around 75 mayors including five city mayors attended the event. The 300 guests included representatives and officials from UNDP and other NGOs, private bodies and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.
Housing Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain present at the event as the chief guest.
Special guests of the programme were secretary to the housing and public works ministry Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker, Dhaka South City Corporation mayor Sayeed Khokon, Rajshahi city mayor Mosaddek Hossain Bulbul, Barisal city mayor Ahsan Habib Kamal, Bangladesh Institute of Planners general secretary Professor Dr Md Akhtar Mahmud, BIGD executive director Dr Sultan Hafiz, MAB president Alhaj Md Abdul Baten, Urban Development Directorate director Dr Khurshid Jabin Hossain Toufiq, and National Housing Authority chairman and additional secretary Khandakar Akhtaruzzaman.
Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said some 81 per cent of houses of the country are in the rural areas and 80 per cent of these are of low quality.
He said, the country is losing 235 hectares of farmland every day, which is transformed for making residence. “It is therefore essential to forge a comprehensive housing policy and planning for the whole country.”
His ministry will take initiatives to build affordable houses in other cities if their authorities allocate khas land, he said.
Md Shahid Ullah Khandaker in his speech focused on the need of a strongly coordinated plan to tackle the growing housing crisis.
Mayor Syed Khokon said rapid urbanisation coupled with wrong planning and shortage of land has posed a great challenge to the building of healthy and safe housing systems in Dhaka and other cities.
He suggested that a housing plan may be drawn for 200 families living poverty as a standard or model solution, following the similar instances in Tokyo, Singapore and South Korea.
