Housing and Public Works Minister Zakaria Taher on Wednesday said the government has taken an initiative to formulate master plans to ensure planned development of cities and towns across the country, eventually covering the upazila level.
“First, we are working on the metropolitan cities across Bangladesh. Later, we will work on the large cities and ultimately at the upazila level so that a master plan can be prepared for the entire country in the true sense. We will determine through zoning what should be located where,” he said.
The minister was addressing the “Smart City Conclave 2026”, organised by Bonik Barta at a city hotel, focusing on policy challenges, prospects and measures related to smart housing, sustainable urbanisation and the Future Bangladesh.
Zakaria Taher said the Urban Development Directorate (UDD) has undertaken an approximately 10-year plan to carry out urban development in a more precise and coordinated manner.
He said the government has established six new development authorities, similar to RAJUK, over the last seven months.
The new authorities have been established in Mymensingh, Sylhet, Cumilla, Narayanganj, Rangpur and Barishal, the minister said, adding that four development authorities already exist in other areas. “We are also working on Bogura,” he said.
He said in the absence of a development authority, city corporations often both prepare and implement development plans, leaving little scope for checks and balances. “We are trying to bring everyone under a comprehensive legal framework,” he said.
Zakaria Taher said the government is also working to formulate rules for buildings already constructed without approved plans or in violation of approved plans.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Chairman Engineer Md Riazul Islam said people are moving to Dhaka every day and new slums are emerging.
“We also need to consider whether it is possible to control slums only through enforcement of laws,” he said.
Policymakers, planners, engineers, experts, entrepreneurs, businesspeople and representatives of public and private organisations from the housing, construction, energy and urban planning sectors attended the event, moderated by Bonik Barta Editor and Publisher Dewan Hanif Mahmud.