Editorial
Land developers' aggressive posture
The whole city cannot be up for grabs!
THE way the land developers tried to push forward their case, a patently untenable one, in a meeting with the state minister for housing was appalling, to say the least. They not only challenged the government decision to preserve 21 percent of the city's land as water bodies but also accused the government of influencing Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury, the head of the DAP review committee, to have the report in its favour.
While we appreciate some aspects of the role played by Rehab in urban development, we can hardly overlook the fact that land developers face a number of allegations, some of which amount to gross violation of the law. The state minister for housing had a similar encounter with land developers in January this year when he went to the extent of saying that some developers were actually illegal occupiers of land. He took strong exception to the activities of some of the developers that bordered on cheating or swindling.
It is a sad truth that most people, or buyers of the developed land, would agree with much of the state minister's observations on the issue. There are thousands of reports on how people did not get their land in due time, despite paying the prices according to the developers' demand. The developers often delay handing over possession of land on this or that excuse, causing loss of time and money to the innocent buyers.
Now they appear to be determined to scuttle the government's plan of not allowing real estate development in the flood flow zone and earmarking certain water bodies for both technical and ecological reasons. Is the whole city up for grabs by a handful of people calling themselves land developers? Are not technical or environmental issues important in assessing the overall situation?
We are watching what unplanned and haphazard construction of buildings and structures can lead to. The news of buildings tilting is causing panic to people on a regular basis. And we have not heard the land developers and Rehab leaders saying anything on it, except defending themselves and trying to steer clear of any stigma. But the truth of the matter is that experts do not consider some parts of Dhaka's soil fit for high-rises. Against this backdrop, the idea of turning water bodies into land for raising high buildings appears to be nothing but creating potential death traps.
The land developers or those in the real estate business have to attach due importance to people's safety and convenience instead of blaming the government whenever something does not suit their own vested interests.
We fully support the government plan as visualised in DAP. In fact, our criticism is that not enough has been done by the government to implement it. Now the emphasis should be on total and unconditional implementation of the Detail Area Plan.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
Related News
India’s ‘push-in’ strategy violates international law
1 hour(s) ago
Editorial
Why build roads through a reserved forest?
6 hour(s) ago
Editorial
An alarming report on children’s exposure to climate risks
19 June 2026, 19:07 PM
Editorial
Why is safe water inaccessible for millions despite rising spending?
19 June 2026, 08:00 AM
Editorial
BB must confront bad loans’ true scale
18 June 2026, 18:38 PM
Editorial
Comments