Empower urban govt to tackle Dhaka’s woes

Lack of coordination among service-providing agencies and the limited authority of city mayors are among the key reasons behind the deteriorating condition of Dhaka and other cities across the country, urban experts and politicians said yesterday.

They stressed that forming a strong and empowered urban government is essential to effectively address city-level problems.

The speakers urged political parties to clearly outline plans for establishing an urban government and tackling urban challenges in their election manifestos.

They made the remarks at an urban dialogue titled “Manifesto to Save Dhaka,” jointly organised by the Urban Development Journalists’ Forum Bangladesh and Gulshan Society at a city hotel. 

Speaking as the chief guest, Dhaka North City Corporation Administrator Mohammad Azaz said the authority of city corporations is largely limited to waste management and installing streetlights.

“Without a dedicated police force, eviction drives cannot be made sustainable,” he said.

He said traffic law violation fines collected in the DNCC area amount to around Tk 19 to 22 crore every month.

“Not a single taka of this fine goes to the city corporation; the entire amount goes directly to the central treasury. Yet, the city corporation has to spend hundreds of crores of taka on traffic signals and infrastructure development,” he said.

BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Abdus Salam said there is currently no effective coordination among Rajuk, city corporations and other service-providing agencies.

 “Over the past 17 years, state institutions have been destroyed. To recover from this situation, a strong and elected government is necessary,” Abdus said.

Jamaat-e-Islami candidate for Dhaka-17 Dr SM Khaleduzzaman said Dhaka has become nearly unliveable due to mismanagement and wrong political decisions.

“We will give the highest priority to restoring Dhaka’s environment and seek the support of city dwellers,” he said.

Senior Joint Convener of the National Citizen Party Ariful Islam Adib said multiple agencies including city corporations, Rajuk, Wasa and Desco operate in the city, but there is a severe lack of coordination among them.

“An integrated government system is necessary to address this,” Ariful said.

The keynote paper was presented by Sadat Omar, president of Gulshan Society.