Planned future stalled as 20yr plan lies unimplemented

The 18 new wards of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) are set to miss crucial planned development opportunities, as a 20-year Local Area Plan (LAP) has remained shelved for four years without a single step towards implementation.

Despite the completion of the planning document at a cost of Tk3.90 crore with eight proposed development projects, the neither a gazette notification was issued nor the DNCC forwarded the development proposals to the government for execution. Besides, no community awareness was raised about the plan.

As a result, the plan has remained legally ineffective, while lands earmarked for civic amenities are gradually being occupied by residential and commercial structures.

Urban planners and experts warned that the delay has already started eroding the core objectives of the plan. Designated spaces for ward offices, parks, playgrounds and other public facilities – many of which include government-owned and private lands – are being developed with permanent structures, making future acquisition increasingly difficult and costly.

Although the planning document was prepared using 2022 cost estimates, no revision has been initiated. Officials acknowledged that land acquisition costs will rise significantly if the plan remains dormant, further jeopardising its feasibility.

When contacted, DNCC Chief Urban Planner (Additional Charge) SM Shafiqur Rahman admitted that no concrete steps have been taken to operationalise the plan.

“We do not have any active programme to implement the planning documents at the moment. However, the documents were shared with various government agencies and zonal executive officers,” he said.

However, officials involved in development control conceded that no measures were taken to protect the designated lands from unplanned construction.

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), the capital’s construction approval authority, also confirmed that it is not following the Local Area Plan while approving buildings in the extended areas. Chief Town Planner (Current Charge) Md Ashraful Islam said, “The planning document was never published as a gazette. RAJUK is legally bound to follow only gazetted plans. Therefore, we are following the Detailed Area Plan for Dhaka instead.”

DNCC’s weak oversight

The DNCC’s indifference has also raised questions about its oversight capacity. The planning consultancy contract was awarded to Data Expert Pvt Ltd and Troyee Associates on 20 October 2019 at Tk3,90,14,384 with a deadline of 1 June 2021. However, the firms failed to submit all deliverables until August 2025.

A DNCC urban planner, requesting anonymity, said the consultancy firms remained untraceable for a long period before the DNCC approved a contract extension from 1 January 2024 to 30 November 2025.
Allegations surfaced that DNCC Administrator Mohammad Azaz unilaterally approved the extension. Azaz, however, denied any wrongdoing, saying he did not receive any financial benefit.

Concerns were also raised over the engagement of a Jahangirnagar University professor, Md Akter Mahmud, as team leader of the consultancy with a reported monthly salary of Tk2.20 lakh, despite being a full-time university teacher.

When asked about his commercial engagement and reported staff salary, he said the assignment was not full-time. “It was part of research-based and intermittent work. Although the contract showed a two-year tenure on paper, I was engaged for only six months, and not continuously,” he said.

Akter Mahmud also denied receiving a fixed monthly salary, adding, “The work was carried out alongside my full-time academic responsibilities as research activity, and I was not paid on a monthly basis.”

However, documents obtained by the correspondent indicate otherwise.

Experts warn of irreversible loss

Urban planning experts cautioned that continued delay could permanently eliminate opportunities for public amenities in the areas.

“The extended Dhaka area is developing very fast with new settlements being constructed. If immediate steps are not taken, it will become as congested as central Dhaka, where creating new public spaces is almost impossible,” said Akter Mahmud.

He said, “We proposed short-, mid- and long-term development projects over a 20-year period on a priority basis, but those priorities are now being disrupted. We also prepared a plot-wise list of khas land and planned civic amenities accordingly.”

“Now the DNCC will need to revise several aspects of the plan, particularly the rate schedule. I carried out the work between 2020 and 2022, and I was last engaged in 2022,” Akter Mahmud added.
Former president of Bangladesh Institute of Planners Dr Adil Mohammed Khan stressed the urgency of gazette publication on the Local Area Plan.

“Without legal coverage, no agency is obliged to follow the plan. If DNCC delays further, it will lose both private and public land reserved for amenities,” he said, urging immediate revision and implementation.

In May 2016, the government officially approved the inclusion of eight unions – Beraid, Badda, Vatara, Satarkul, Harirampur, Uttarkhan, Dakkhinkhan, and Dumni – into the jurisdiction of the DNCC, creating 18 new wards.