Building owners in all city corporations and municipalities will get a 10 percent rebate on the holding tax for rooftop gardening, said Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam on Wednesday (June 14, 2023). “The decision has been taken to bring down the temperature,” said the minister at a meeting at the conference room of the Local Government Division at the Secretariat. Read: Environmental discipline needed to realise 'livable Dhaka': LGRD Minister Talking about upcoming Eid-ul-Azha, he said that instructions have been given to the authorities concerned to clear the sacrificial animal waste by evening of the Eid day. “Animal waste is usually removed by the evening. This time too, the same instructions have been given. Besides, animals will have to be sacrificed at designated places,” he said. Read: Govt takes up masterplan to prevent river pollution in and around Dhaka: LGRD Minister Efforts have been made to ensure that there will be no pollution from sacrificial animal waste, the minister added.

Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Md Tajul Islam warned that stern action will be taken if anyone creates anarchy in the country by vandalism and bombings in the name of the movement. He said, “Movement is democratic right of the people. But nobody has the right to create anarchy in the name of rights.” Tajul urged the opposition political parties to play a responsible role in this regard. The minister came up with the observation while addressing a discussion organised by Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association marking National Mourning Day at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Saturday as the chief guest. A dua mahfil and blood donation campaign were also arranged on the occasion.     Criticising the opposition parties, he said, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working relentlessly to fulfil the dream of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On the other hand, an anti-liberation force is engaged to confuse the people.   Tajul also said Bangladesh never loses its destination led by Sheikh Hasina. Read: Quader asks party to be careful with words during crisis The senior Awami League leader said people from all over the world are struggling due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The government has temporarily hiked the fuel prices to face the crisis. All have to face the crisis unitedly. He also claimed that Bangladesh is still in a good position compared to the other countries in the world.  The minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina always wants the wellbeing of the people. “Whatever, she decides, it will be pro-people.” Regarding foreign loans, Tajul said international organisations and other development partners offer debt to Bangladesh as the country can refund it. He also urged the people to refrain from circulating propaganda about a Sri-Lanka-like situation in Bangladesh. Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association president Harun-ur-Rashid chaired the function while Bangladesh Awami League Health and Population Affairs Secretary Dr Rebeka Sultana, among others, was present. Siful Islam Khan Biru, General Secretary of the organisation moderated it. 

LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam on Sunday said the government has taken steps to develop the rivers around Dhaka so more passener boats can operate to ease traffic in the capital city. “The bridges over rivers around Dhaka are not high enough to allow vessel movement. Already the authorities concerned have identified some bridges and directives have been given to demolish those and make the rivers suitable for navigation,” he said. Tajul was speaking at a function marking the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Water Development Board and South City Corporation in the city. Also read: DSCC preparing integrated master plan to turn Dhaka into smart city, Tajul tells JS He said the waterlogging problem in the city has eased this year due to the re-excavation of canals and eviction of illegal occupants Tajul said most of the buildings in the city have no septic tanks. They have been warned, but response has been unsatisfactory, he said. Also read: Decision on legal steps against GCC mayor to be known soon: Tajul He also urged the authorities concerned to take strict action including shutting down the sewerage lines of those owners who refused to follow the government decision.

Every house, government and non-government buildings must have its own septic tank for sewage management in the capital, said Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam on Sunday. “Sewerage lines should not be led directly into lakes or canals,” he said at a workshop on ‘Safe Sewage Management: Things to Do' organised by Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) at the city’s Nagar Bhaban. The minister said, “About 99 per cent of buildings in Dhaka have been built violating laws and regulations. And most of the houses in the capital do not have septic tanks.” As there is no septic tank, the sewerage line goes directly into the canal and lake polluting the water and threatening species, including fish, the minister added. Also read: Buildings having rainwater harvesting system to get tax waiver: DNCC Mayor “There is no scope to allow construction of any infrastructure without septic tank for waste management,” said Md Tajul directing the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to be more careful about these matters before approving the design. He said consumption has increased due to an increase in purchasing power of people and so has the garbage. He further said, “Naturally this garbage has become a challenge for management. And this challenge is not only in our country but also in other countries of the world.” The government is working to address this challenge, he said, mentioning that it is going to generate electricity from waste soon. He said both the city corporations are working tirelessly to make the capital Dhaka a modern, beautiful and liveable city. “Many occupied canals have already been recovered. Work is underway to repair and re-excavate the canals to make them navigable. Many changes will take place in the city once the work is completed.” Also read: Ensure fire safety in high-rise buildings: PM UNICEF Country Representative Mr. Sheldon Yett was the special guest at the event presided over by the DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam. Earlier, the LGRD minister visited various stalls related to the use of modern technology in waste management.

Approval will be needed from the concerned city corporation along with Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) in order to erect any kind of establishment in Dhaka,  Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam made the announcement on Sunday while attending a meeting at the secretariat on evaluations of measures taken by the city corporations to resolve waterlogging issue in Dhaka and Chattogram ahead of monsoon. The minister asked the city mayors to stay alert about anyone facing harassment while taking approval from the city corporations. The minister said concerned ministry, department, office, organisations, private organisations or individuals will need to seek approval for constructions and arrangements will need to be made to monitor them after giving approval. Md Tajul Islam said, “There are many bridges in Dhaka city and adjoining areas but they have no navigation facilities for vessels. Decision has been taken to construct new bridges by breaking the old ones keeping navigation facilities.” Also read: Buildings having rainwater harvesting system to get tax waiver: DNCC Mayor Mentioning occupation of canals and water bodies as one of the main causes of waterlogging the minister said in this monsoon there will be no waterlogging as Dhaka North and South City Corporations are working to ensure no such public suffering occurs. He said both the city corporations have already started eviction drives to remove these illegal occupations and the north city corporation is working to make the city beautiful along with creating water retention ponds. Also read: Recovered city canals will end waterlogging and add beauty: LGRD Minister Minister Tajul Islam decided to form a sub committee led by additional secretary of LGRD Ministry for solving waterlogging, to recover the canals and repair them at Chattogram City Corporation.

Sylhet WASA will be established soon to solve the problem of water and sewerage in Sylhet metropolis, said Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam. The minister said, "There is a need to build environmentally friendly, sustainable and people-oriented drinking water supply and sanitary drainage systems for the people of the metropolis." Sylhet is one of the most important cities in the country. Due to population and urbanisation, the dwellers need to be provided with much needed civic amenities, said the minister in a meeting on setting up of 'Water Supply and Sewerage Authority' (Sylhet WASA) in Sylhet City Corporation area as per 'Water Supply and Sewerage Authority 1996' organized virtually on Sunday. Read:BGMEA urges LGRD Ministry to repair roads in industrial areas Tajul Islam informed that necessary instructions have been given to the Ministries, Departments, Offices and Agencies concerned to take immediate action for issuing Gazette Notification, Organogram, Formulation of Employment Rules and other activities as initial steps for formation of Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Sylhet WASA) in Sylhet metropolis. The Minister also expressed hope that it will be possible to establish Sylhet WASA very soon. Stating his ministry is working tirelessly to protect the overall environment by adopting and implementing realistic sustainable projects for the development of drinking water supply management in urban and rural areas, he said the government has placed more emphasis on surface water use by reducing dependence on groundwater resources. To this end, various steps have been taken to increase the use of river water in urban as well as rural areas, digging ponds, and using surface water through rainwater harvesting. In this regard, he further said, in accordance with SDG, it has been assured to use 70% surface water by 2030. And Bangladesh will achieve the target before this time. The LGRD minister said there are water problems in many countries of the world. "Being a riverine country, we have fewer problems with water than many other countries. Even after this capacity, we are working to ensure drinking water and a healthy sewerage system in remote areas of the country." Mentioning that the country is moving forward under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said that unprecedented success has been achieved in the development of all sectors due to collective work not only in water but also in other sectors. Read:Recovered city canals will end waterlogging and add beauty: LGRD Minister Meanwhile, taking part in the meeting, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said the population of Sylhet has increased many times over. So it became urgent to establish a WASA there. He thanked the LGRD Minister for taking the initiative to establish Sylhet WASA from this realization and assured all possible assistance for its speedy implementation. The meeting was attended by Senior Secretary of LGRD ministry Helal Uddin Ahmed, Mayor of Sylhet City Corporation Ariful Haque Choudhury and senior officials of the ministry concerned.

Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam said the decision about taking legal steps against Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) Mayor Jahangir Alam will be known within a day or two. “The government is reviewing the legal issue and the decision will be known within a day or two,” he said. The minister came up with the information while talking to reporters at the Bangladesh Secretariat. “Legal action will be taken after scrutinizing the city corporation law, and we’ll let you know about it,” said Tajul. Also read: Gazipur Mayor to seek review of his expulsion decision On Friday, Awami League expelled its Gazipur unit general secretary and city mayor Jahangir Alam for life for his controversial comments on Bangabandhu and other local leaders. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Awami League Central Working Committee at Ganobhaban on Friday evening with party chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. On October 3, Awami League issued a show cause notice to Jahangir Alam for his recent viral video with controversial comments on Bangabandhu, regarding the number of people martyred during the Liberation War and other local leaders. He was asked to reply to the notice within 15 days. The notice said Jahangir’s viral comments damaged the image and popularity of the political organization. It is equal to going against the interest of the organization and breaking its disciplines which is a punishable offence according to the party’s constitution, it said. Also read: Awami League expels Gazipur mayor Jahangir Jahangir was asked through the letter to explain why organizational action should not be taken against him. The mayor claimed that conspirators and anti-election groups have spread the 'technologically manipulated video' as propaganda against him.

Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam said on Wednesday the government plans to launch National Water Grid Line to ensure safe water supply across the country, including the coastal areas. He said this while addressing virtually the Governing Board Meeting-2021 at The Regional Center on Urban Water Management (RCUWM). He also called on member states to launch inter-border water grid lines to deal with regional water issues. Safe drinking water supply has become a challenge not only in the coastal areas but also in some other parts of the country, Tajul said. This challenge would be met if water could be supplied through zones and sub-zones via the National Water Grid Line, he mentioned. The LGRD Minister also proposed to explore the possibility of taking the idea of constructing a cross-border water grid between Bangladesh and RCUWM member countries. Ministers of Water Ministries of 18 countries and members of international organizations including UNESCO, UNDP, FAO, WMO, IWA, IsDB participated in this virtual conference chaired by the Iranian Minister of Energy.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam has said that the Mirsarai Economic Zone in Chattogram division would generate employment opportunities for 3 million (30 lakh) people.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam on Friday said that recognising the government’s good works is important alongside constructive criticism.