The Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP), a platform of urban planners, on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the interim government's recent move to amend Dhaka's Detailed Area Plan (DAP).
The platform raised the concern at a press conference at its auditorium in the capital.
Addressing the press conference, its President Professor Dr Adil Mohammad Khan said the current population density of Dhaka is over 50,000 per square kilometre on average which will increase more if DAP is amended.
“In some areas like Badda, Rampura, Basabo and old Dhaka over 1 lakh people are living per square kilometre, which might be the highest in the world,” he said.
Professor Adil said many works have to be done for improvement of traffic, utility and waste management to keep Dhaka livable with the existing population density.
When the scope will be created to accommodate more people in the city, it would be turned into an unhealthy and unmanageable city, he added.
Prof Adil said the government is proceeding with the amendment plan under pressure from real estate developers, primarily by increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in most parts of the capital.
FAR is a crucial metric that defines the relationship between a building's total floor area and the land it occupies.
A higher FAR allows for larger buildings on a given plot, potentially leading to increased density with taller structures and more concrete.
He warned that the proposed amendments that ignore the opinions of planners and civil society organisations and that will lead to a significant increase in the number of high-rise buildings in the already overcrowded Dhaka City.
This will place an unbearable strain on transport and all forms of civic services, he added.
The DAP was gazetted on August 24, 2022, with the goal of creating a planned city by addressing Dhaka's problems through block-based density, transit-oriented development, and a focus on public amenities.
Despite provisions for updating the DAP every five years, the current move to make repeated changes under pressure from special interest groups is considered self-destructive and an impediment to effective urban planning, said Prof Adil.
The proposed amendments suggest increasing the FAR in most parts of Dhaka by 20 to 60 percent.
According to the draft amendments, the FAR is proposed to be increased in several residential areas:
- Khilkhet: from 2.0 to 4.4
- Mirpur DOHS: from 2.5 to 4.1
- Badda: from 2.0 to 3.3
- Faridabad: from 2.0 to 3.1
- Rampura: from 2.0 to 3.5
- Mirpur: from 2.8 to 3.4
- Basabo: from 2.0 to 3.3
While the FAR in posh areas like Gulshan, Banani and Dhanmondi has been slightly reduced (from 5.7 to 5.5 and 5.1 to 5.0 respectively).
The draft does contain some positive recommendations, such as proposals to stop development on agricultural land, wetlands and flood flow zones, a demand long-supported by the institute, said Prof Adil.
Syed Shahriar Amin, vice president of BIP, Tamzidul Islam, joint secretary, board members Abu Nayem Shohag and Fahim Abedin also spoke at the press conference.