A proposal has been made under the Detailed Area Plan (DAP)-2035 of Rajuk to limit the height of residential buildings in capital Dhaka to eight-storey ones, aiming to build the city livable and planned one through population density zoning.

The limit for buildings in Gazipur and Narayanganj City Corporation and Savar Municipality has been fixed at six-storey ones.

However, two more floors can be allowed in densely populated areas under special conditions, according to the DAP-2035 proposal.

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DAP project director Ashraful Islam told UNB that multi-storey buildings have been constructed in various parts of the capital without having most civic amenities required for its residents.

“As many vehicles get in and out of a multi-storey building, the traffic creates congestion in that area if there’s no necessary roads in the neighborhood. There’s also a crisis in other such civic amenities. To address this situation, restrictions will be imposed on the height of residential multi-storey buildings, Ashraful Islam said.

Multi-faceted communication system

There is also a proposal to build a multifaceted communication system through rail, road and waterway to connect different cities with Dhaka in order to lessen pressure on the central part of Dhaka.

PD Ashraful Islam said improved communication with Gazipur, Savar, Keraniganj and Narayanganj areas has been proposed to reduce the population density in Dhaka. Metrorail, elevated expressways and shipping have been proposed as modes of communication between central Dhaka and adjacent cities. Once the communication system with these cities is improved, people will be able to move around easily, reducing the pressure of traffic on central Dhaka.

Area-wise development plans visualising Dhaka of 2035 has been proposed in the new DAP. There are proposals to have three to four schools in each ward in addition to having 25 fields and parks.

Due to filling up of canals in different areas of the capital and construction of culverts and box culverts, waterlogging has become a common phenomenon in the capital during monsoon.

Therefore, it has been proposed to remove all the culverts and box culverts and bring back navigability there. If this proposal is implemented, a 58-km area of new waterways will be created in the DAP area.

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Land Use Zone

The Detailed Area Plan of Rajuk proposes to divide Dhaka into 13 ‘land use zones ' based on urban, residential, commercial and agricultural areas.

According to official sources, about 94,058.42 hectares of land in the entire metropolitan area has been proposed as urban area which is 61.81 percent of the total plan. Some 19,457.6 acres will be used as residential area (5.16 percent of the total plan), one lakh 23,931.09 acres (32.75 percent) will be used as common use area (mainly residential). Some 1,008.93 acres can be used as common areas (residential-commercial) (48 percent of the total plan).

Besides, 143.33 acres will be used as commercial areas which is 0. 04 percent of the total planned areas, 4,933.91 acres (1.31 per cent) as common use area (commercial main), 29,636.11 acres (6.8 per cent) as common use area (industrial main) and 13,542.75 acres as institutional areas. Some 6,465.41 acres (3.59 percent) will be used as heavy industrial areas (1.81 percent). Some 19,623.50 acres (5.15 percent) can be used as transport and communication (existing) areas, and 8,892 acres (2.03 per cent) can be used as transport and communication (proposed).

Besides, there are 1,11, 203.69 acres (29.46 percent) which have been earmarked as agricultural lands, 29 thousand 603.6 acres (7.8 percent) as reservoir, forest 5 340.92 acres (1.42 percent) and 3,933.32 acres as open space (1.04 percent of the total planned area). In all, 38264.22 acres of land will be used for these 13 types of works.

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According to DAP sources, the urban areas in Dhaka city increased to 20,549 hectares in 2005. Gradually, the cultivable land declined to 6,236 hectares from 12,040 hectares. Similarly, the areas with wetlands and vegetation have decreased by 6,026 and 2,612 hectares respectively.

There was no specific policy on how to protect agricultural lands. Many countries around the world have adopted TDR or Transfer of Development Rights to protect agricultural lands or water bodies and historical installations or areas. DAP has also proposed to protect agricultural lands by following this method.

The Committee for Implementation of Detailed Area Plan (DAP), headed by the Minister of Local Government, has held several meetings recently.

While talking to UNB, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister and DAP convener Md. Tajul Islam said the final decision on implementation of DAP will be taken soon in consultation with city corporations.