DHAKA: Detailed Area Plan (DAP) prepared in 2010 showed ancestral homesteads as water-bodies. The land where people have been living constructing residential houses since long has been projected as flood-flow zone.
Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury, convener of DAP review committee, admitted that the aforementioned area plan is faulty. The plan was prepared without conducting hydrological survey and assessing the condition of land. A vested quarter is out to hatch conspiracy against the government in the name of implementing the DAP.
According to sources, a vested quarter is trying to misguide and convince the government policymakers to implement the faulty area plan. The conspiracy aims at instigating the people of Dhaka to stand against the government and paralize the economy. Failing to provoke the people against the government in any other way, the conspirators are trying to use the issue of DAP to create mass discontent among the people in this regard.
The report of an intelligence agency said that about 2,778 industrial units will have to be shifted for implementation of Detailed Area Plan (DAP) and more than 5 lakh establishments have to be dismantled. For this reason, many families will lose their houses. On the other hand, many people and expatriates those who signed contract with real estate companies for purchasing plot will fall in crisis.
Now there are 1,528 square kolometres areas of Dhaka city is under DAP plan. The gazette notification of ‘faulty’ and ‘controversial’ DAP was published on June 22, 2010 which created many controversies. A Cabinet committee was formed to amend the faulty DAP. The Cabinet committee has again been re-constituted headed by Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain due to its failure to conduct activities.
But the vested quarters want to implement the old faulty DAP. DAP was formulated changing previous one by the end of the last caretaker government. Sources concerned said now DAP is the main tool for fueling people against the incumbent government. The vested quarters are trying to put the government into trouble because now the government in as good position among people who are happy over war crimes verdicts. On the other hand, the West Bengal money provider quarters had been identified. Now many militants who are hatching conspiracy to oust the government, are being arrested by Indian government.
The opposition parties of the country want to wage movement in January next. Government in this regard remains alert. The opposition is advancing keeping in mind failure of Dhaka movement before the last January 5 election.
Already, country’s housing sector and its 269 related sectors are facing various impediments due to DAP. RAJUK for the last 12 years could not approve any new housing projects due to DAP. So demand of produced goods of 269 related sectors of the housing sector has been reduced due to slow pace of the sector.
Firstly the draft DAP was published as gazette notification in 2008. The gazette notification was published only to receive public opinion on DAP. Public opinion was taken from October 5 to December 4 in 2008. After receiving public opinion, the deadline for publishing gazette notification of DAP was fixed by January 24, 2009.
But instead of publishing final DAP, the then public and works adviser to the caretaker government arranged a ‘so-called’ national seminar on December 23, 2008. The seminar recommended a review committee for reviewing DAP.
A 12-member committee was formed instantly through a gazette notification on January 1, 2009, two days after the ninth general election on December 29, 2008 and few days before forming the new government.
This committee changed the old DAP and formed a new DAP which was unrealistic, full of mistakes and unfit to implement. It was sent for publishing as a gazette notification, claimed the persons concerned.
In the face of huge objection, a 6-member committee was formed to review DAP on March 7, 2010. DAP was published as gazette notification on June 22, 2010.
Following the publication of the gazette notification public representatives in Dhaka openly expressed their own dissatisfaction with DAP. They also feared of mass upsurge in different areas. Their fear came true within one month of publication of DAP as gazette notification.
A mass upsurge took place in Gazipur in July 2010. Not only many residential areas and roads were shown as marshlands and flood-flow areas, 60 feet roads of reputed and RAJUK approved housing projects were shown as 80 feet. As a result, hundreds of high-rise buildings beside those roads need to be demolished.
DAP review committee convener Professor Dr Jamilur Reza Choudhury admitted that there were some mistakes in the DAP that was formulated on February 18 last.
He told a programme held at BGMEA Bhaban in the city that during the formulation of DAP four consultant organisations those who got the task showed huge land as marshlands but actually those were not marshlands.
This noted architect said it was not possible to scrutinise by the review committee that how they had categorised the lands and on what basis. They showed land as marshlands but actually those were not marshlands.
“We hope, we will get a new DAP within 2015 after identifying mistakes,” he said.
When asked, is it possible to turn the lands- which are filled by sands and where many housing projects have been established - into marshlands, Prof Dr Rezwan Hossain Bhuiyan of Geography and Environmental Science of Dhaka University said it is not possible at all. That is why DAP should be implemented keeping the present situation. Otherwise, it would not be possible to save the existing land.
He said, “After scrutinising we opined that if DAP is implemented after saving 50 percent of our mentioned areas then it would be possible to save Dhaka largely.”
BDST: 0951 HRS, NOV 10, 2014
