Staff Reporter :No new bars will be given permission to run in the residential areas of Dhaka city.Besides, no guesthouse, hospital, restaurant, private university and hotel will be allowed to run in the residential areas.A proposal taken in this regard by the LGRD Ministry was placed at a regular Cabinet meeting held at Secretariat yesterday for approval.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the Cabinet meeting. “The Cabinet accepted four recommendations placed by the Local Government Division to remove unauthorised bars, guesthouses and hotels from the residential areas of the cities across the country after giving them a six-month deadline,” Cabinet Secretary Mohamnad Shafiul Alam told journalists after the meeting. He said the Local Government Division after holding meetings with various ministries, including Home Ministry, Internal Resources Division, and Housing and Public Works Ministry, has prepared the report and placed it before the cabinet.The four recommendations include ensuring parking facility at the basement and underground parking in all residential plots. Another recommendation is that the Ministry of Home Affairs will take necessary measures for cancelling bar licenses in residential areas as well as removing those alongside not issuing any license for setting up bars in residential areas.RAJUK, City Corporations and Housing Authorities concerned, will take steps so that no unauthorised guest houses and hotels could operate in residential areas.”This is not an aggressive or hostile approach, rather a sort of guideline and the stakeholders concerned will be convinced to do so,” the Cabinet Secretary hoped.All sorts of unauthorised commercial firms have been asked to remove their establishments from the residential areas in Dhaka city as well as other cities across the country within the next six months.After the expiry of the deadline, authorities will conduct raids to implement this directives. Besides, existing gas, electricity and water lines will be snapped on expiring of the deadlines. Meanwhile, both Dhaka North City Corporation and Dhaka South City Corporation continued to conduct the eviction drive against the illegal establishments in different areas of the city. “Instruction has been served to remove unauthorised bars, private university campuses, guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and hospitals from the city’s residential areas within the next six months. Otherwise, their gas, electricity and water lines will be snapped,” Mohammad Shafiul Alam said.He said if the owners do not remove their unapproved establishments within the deadline, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and the city corporations will jointly take action for removing those illegal structures from the capital Dhaka. “The day is being numbered from Monday. From right now the government will not realise any tax or VAT from the unauthorised institutions,” the Cabinet Secretary said. Apart from these, he said, the trade licenses of those organisations issued by the City Corporations would be cancelled.Replying to a query, he said the timeframe could be extended later, if necessary “The decision was taken to bring back the residential environment of those residential areas,” Shafiul Alam said.
