CDA raises citizens' hopes for plots
Acting City Mayor M Manjur Alam inaugurates the open lottery of plot allotment of Ananya Housing Project at Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) hall room on Monday. Photo: STAR
Fast development of residential areas and fair allocation of plots by Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) have raised hopes among the common people for a piece of land in the port city. Success in three projects encourages it to plan for more such residential projects with relaxed conditions for plots, sources said. With the latest allotment of 1521 plots in Ananya Residential Area on April 21 the CDA has allocated 2351 residential plots under three projects since March 22, 2006, sources said. On the other hand, the authorities could allocate 3526 plots in eight other housing projects developed since 1961. These eight residential areas include Agrabad CDA Residential Area (R/A) with 774 plots, Silimpur R/A with 1029 plots, Karnaphuli Bamtir R/A with 516 plots, Chandgaon R/A phase I and II with 689 plots, Chandrima R/A 183 plots, Faujderhat R/A with 164 plots, Halishahar R/A with 22 plots, Katalganj R/A with 51 plots, Sholoshahar R/A with 98 plots and Karnaphuli R/A with 516 plots. Of them, the projects in Silimpur and Karnaphuli scheduled to be implemented by 1983 and 1993 are yet to prove success as the authorities concerned could not provide utility services till date. Delay in implementing the projects and reported nepotism and irregularities in allotment process earned a bad name for CDA when common people hardly thought of applying for plots, sources said. Situation, however, started improving after a new allotment policy was introduced in 2005 with honest and professional officials. The CDA, under the new policy, introduced open lottery system for allotments of plots among 400 applicants, out of 1047, in Kalpaloke first phase on March 22, 2006. The lottery was held nine years after the project was initiated in June in 1997 and over three years the application forms were submitted with an average deposition of Tk 1.5 lakh by November 17, 2002. The CDA holds lottery for plots in Kalpaloke second phase only after five months (on August 29) the same year in participation of almost double number of applicants. A total of 1924 applications were submitted with deposition of Tk 5 lakh each for 430 plots in the project. It initiated for developing around 1550 plots in Ananya Residential Area over 174 acres of land in the Kulgaon area in August last year. A total of 5521 applicants submitted applications with deposit money of Tk 5 lakh each by October 2, 2007. The lottery scheduled for November was delayed due to complexities in land acquired for the project before it could be held on April 21. To cater the increasing need for housing, CDA now plans to develop two more projects over 500 acres of land in Bakalia and Quish areas in the city within a short time, said the sources. The expatriates will have priority for the plots in these residential areas. The project at Bakalia will be developed in the shape of a China town where apartment buildings will house commercial establishments in the lower floors and residential apartments on the upper floors, sources said. “CDA has already submitted a proposal for developing the Fateyabad New Township on 5000 acres of land at Fateyabad involving around Tk 6000 crore, said CDA Chairman Shah Muhammad Akhter Uddin while talking to this correspondent at his office on April 21. He said they are proceeding for the projects for which 2.5 hectares (over 100 acres) of land are needed for 400 plots on each hectare,” he said. He said the CDA will involve developers for construction of buildings with a provision of 20 per cent apartments for the low-income group. Akhter said they are thinking of relaxing the conditions for owning the developed plots, extending time for making payment in several installments and reducing the rate of interest to a tolerable limit. Besides, CDA has taken initiative to revive Salimpur residential and Karnaphuli residential projects, he said. He said the CDA will serve notice to the owners of 100 plots under alternative use or lying vacant at Salimpur R/A to ensure their proper use within a month.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments