Staff Reporter :
The leaders of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) said that the duel administration in construction approval process will create new crisis in the country’s housing sector.
The government’s move to include city corporations in the approval process for construction in Dhaka directly contradicts its effort to improve the ease of doing business in the country, they said.
This is because such a decision would create new crises in the housing industry, where the government is striving to create an orderly system and business-friendly environment for new entrepreneurs, who play a strong role in the country’s development, they added.
“So, this decision seems contrary to the government’s initiative as it would create more hassles in the construction sector,” said REHAB President Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal) while speaking at a press conference at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka on Saturday.
“I came to know through the media that the construction of any building, not just multi-storied one, may soon require prior approval from city corporations,” Kajal said.He claimed the sector accounts for about 15 per cent of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.
Up until 2019, there was a provision in the Dhaka Building Construction Act 2008, requiring developers to obtain clearance from the city corporations to erect any structure with more than 10 stories.
But in order to expedite the construction of high-rise buildings in the capital, the approval process was then simplified to include just three organisations: Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence, and the Civil Aviation Authority.
During a meeting on February 6, Md Tazul Islam, minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, informed the mayors of Dhaka and Chattogram that individuals and organisations would have to seek permission from the city corporations, alongside the Rajuk, to build structures in Dhaka.
This means that developers would require prior approval from either the Dhaka North City Corporation or Dhaka South City Corporation depending on where the construction would take place.
REHAB First Vice-President Kamal Mahmud and Vice-President (Finance) Engr Mohd Sohel Rana, among others, were present at the briefing.
