WHILE the Bangladesh capital Dhaka was adjudged the second least liveable city in the world for the third consecutive year, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2015 Global Livability Ranking, RAJUK included MPs in the current year’s study tours abroad meant for its officials to stem criticism that the visits produced no visible results in making the capital livable.This is for the first time that a number of MPs in the Parliamentary Committee on Housing And Public Works Ministry would go on such study tours. This year RAJUK decided to send 5 seven-member teams to study the cities of the USA, Australia, Germany, France and Japan. Each team would spend 10 days in one of the five developed countries to gather theoretical and practical knowledge about their planned development efforts.The core members of the teams are officials serving RAJUK on deputation. Until now at least four MPs and two officials of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Housing and Public Works Ministry have been included in RAJUK’s teams set to go on the study tours, said officials.The standing committee at its meeting on August 26 last year criticised RAJUK’s study tours saying they produce zero results. This year the JS Standing Committee mounted pressure on RAJUK to include its members and officials in its study tours. The committee meeting held on May 5 recommended to include its members and officials in RAJUK’s study tours.On June 1, RAJUK failed to send the first team to the USA on study tour as scheduled due to pressure mounted by the JS Committee to include more MPs in it and the housing ministry to include more officials from it. Following pressure, RAJUK included two MPs in the first team that was due to visit the USA for 10 days beginning June 1.Two MPs were included in the fifth team that was due to visit Japan on study tour for 10 days beginning July 11, shows the list. Officials said that RAJUK had to reschedule the study tours following pressure to include more MPs in the Standing Committee as well as Housing Ministry officials. Now, they said, that the phased out study tours are tentatively set to start on Sunday (today) when the first team is due to leave for France.RAJUK’s study tours as nothing but pleasure trips at government expenses – they have spent more than taka ten crores over the last five years – but Dhaka city remains as unlivable as ever. This year we have the dubious honour of being the second least livable city in the world. It is clear that RAJUK is more interested to provide pleasure trips for its members than in providing services which make the city genuinely more pleasurable to live in. It is also unbelievable that Parliamentary Standing Committee members had criticised RAJUK’s study tours in the past only to join the trips in the present. This state of affairs must change.
