President Abdul Hamid has urged the realtors to remain alert against grabbing of public and private land for housing projects and said such activities by anyone would not only affect the image of the housing sector but also leave negative impact on the people.
“News about implementation of housing projects by grabbing public or private land is often seen in the newspapers. You must remain alert against it as such activities create a negative impact of real estate and housing sector in the mind of the people,” the President said at the opening ceremony of the silver jubilee celebration of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) at Hotel Sonargaon here on Thursday.
Saying that safe abode is one of the fundamental rights of people, President Hamid stressed the need for using most modern technology in housing sector considering the earthquake risks as a big part of the country, including Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet, are vulnerable to earthquake.
He said every house and flat must be equipped with enough firefighting system to save people from any fire incident.
Mentioning that the unplanned urbanization is creating many problems in the country, he said everybody must follow building code and other government rules and policies in construction of buildings. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), city corporations and other authorities concerned must ensure strict supervision in this regard, he added.
The President said side by side with making profits the developers must increase their social responsibility in construction of structures in the Dhaka city. “Developers need to be respectful to rules and policies in achieving goodwill for their respective organizations,” he said, adding that good relations will be created between the developers and buyers with expansion of their organizations.
He said the present government has taken up different development programmes under Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative and there is scope to take such programmes in real estate and housing sector also.
“You (REHAB members) will have to come forward with specific proposals for PPP. Satellite city can be built on the outskirts of Dhaka. Side by side with the government, REHAB can play an effective role in this regard,” he added.
The President also asked the REHAB members to take environmental impact under consideration during taking and implementing any housing project, saying that Bangladesh is playing an important role in the international arena for facing the negative impact of climate change.
Residential buildings are being constructed in an unplanned way by filling canals, water-bodies and rivers in different parts of the country, he said, adding that as a result, environment faces threats.
“During implementation of any housing project, open space, playground and normal flow of air must be ensured so that our future generations can grow up in a healthy and good environment. It is the responsibility of all to leave a habitable world for our new generations,” he added.
Housing and public works minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain, state minister for power, energy and mineral resources Nasrul Hamid, REHAB president Md Alamgir Samsul Alamin, REHAB senior vice president Nurun Nabi Chowdhury and REHAB director Zahir Ahmed, among others, spoke on the occasion.
