Experts seek stronger role for local govt in urban planning

Urban experts said on Saturday that centralised decisions, bureaucratic control and political interference are sidelining local government institutions in urban development.
They said city corporations and municipalities were increasingly confined to garbage collection and mosquito control, while poor coordination and limited public participation worsened infrastructure problems. They spoke at a dialogue, "Role of Local Government in Planned and Sustainable Urbanisation", organised by the Urban Development Journalists Forum Bangladesh (UDJFB) at the CIRDAP auditorium.
UDJFB President Motin Abdullah chaired the event. Former Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) chief engineer Md Nurullah presented the keynote paper. Institute for Planning and Development Executive Director Prof Adil Muhammad Khan said urban management had made little progress in over 55 years of independence. In the 2026 Oxford Economics Global Cities Ranking, Dhaka placed 575th among 1,000 cities, while Mymensingh scored 18.7 out of 100, he said.
He said development authorities were allowing 14-storey buildings in areas previously limited to four or five storeys without consulting city corporations about infrastructure capacity. Political interference and bureaucratic control had eroded public confidence, he said. Without elected ward councillors, residents lacked remedies against park and playground occupation and unauthorised road excavation. 
Prof Adil proposed 10-12-member non-partisan ward committees and urged empowering city corporations to coordinate service agencies.
DSCC Chief Urban Planner Nazrul Islam said poor coordination is hampering master plan implementation. He called for ward-based action plans and a single master plan prioritising public interests.
Nurullah said the urban population had risen from 5% in 1960 to around 42.6%. The Local Government Division has only 90 officials for 5,479 institutions, while over half of approved municipal posts are vacant.
He proposed a National Physical or Spatial Planning Council led by the prime minister, a modern Urban and Rural Planning Act and planning departments with professional planners and GIS experts.