Hatirjheel to get tall buildings

Land owners within a 300-metre radius along the fringe of Hatirjheel project would now be able to build tall buildings up to permissible heights as per building rule, a seven-member ministerial committee for review of Dhaka's Detailed Area Plan (DAP) decided yesterday.

Earlier, immediately after the Hatirjheel integrated project opened to the public in January 2013, the authorities decided that controlled development would be enforced along the fringe and no structure beyond six stories would be allowed for the sake of the project's beauty.

The ministerial committee withdrew the bar considering benefits of the land owners, who were affected due to acquisition of 139 acres of land during implementation of the project, said Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives and head of the committee.  

"The six-story restriction is withdrawn in overall consideration and the land owners now would be allowed to go as high with their buildings as the rules permit," he said at the meeting in Bangladesh Secretariat.

"But it would not be allowed to spoil beauty of the project," he said.

Maj Gen Abu Sayeed Md Masud, who coordinated implementation of the Hatirjheel project and is currently the chief coordinator of the Padma multipurpose bridge project, said withdrawal of the height restriction was a long-drawn demand of the local people.

Those who were affected due to land acquisition would now be able to overcome the damage with taller heights of buildings, said Sayeed.     

On reviewing the DAP, the minister said they hired two consulting firms (the Institute of Water Modelling and the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services) to ascertain the "inconsistencies in the DAP" and that the report was expected by this month.

"We will meet again early next month and on the basis of the consultants' recommendations will remove the inconsistencies and barriers in the DAP," he said.

This committee, in mid-2014, then led by Public Works Minister Mosharraf Hossain, facilitated altering the DAP provision, legalising illegal private housing businesses and destroying 8,000 acres of conservable flood flow zones and farmlands. 

His predecessor Abdul Mannan did the same.   

Flood flow zones and farmlands were earmarked in the 1,528 square-kilometre DAP jurisdiction of Dhaka city for planned urban development, conservation of environment and ecology, flood water drainage and urban livability.

Leading urban planners have cautioned time and again that floodplains are crucial for carrying and containing upstream flood water and conserving the environment. Filling them up will cause severe floods and paralyse normal life and livelihood of city people.

It will badly affect the environment and ecological system, including flora and fauna and will block the drainage and transport system, affect human health and prevent groundwater replenishment.  

The DAP, with a view to ensure a planned, healthy and environmentally sound capital, was finalised amidst vehement opposition by real-estate developers.

The government, immediately after issuing a gazette notification in mid-2010, formed the seven-minister committee for "final reviews".