The government has approved a fresh Detailed Area Plan (DAP) to keep the capital habitable by easing pollution, traffic congestion, waterlogging and other issues through effective use of land.
The new plan will replace the 2010 version from Tuesday for areas stretching across 1,582 sqkm under the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK), the capital development agency.
In a notice on Tuesday, the Ministry of Housing and Public Works said a draft DAP (2016-2035) for metropolis was published in 2020. Everyone was asked to forward “recommendations and objections” to it.
It added that the plan was approved based on the recommendations and objections and it will take effect immediately. The 2010 DAP is no longer valid. But the “works completed or measures taken” under the 2010 DAP will be considered legal.
Md Tajul Islam, the convener of a cabinet committee formed to review the DAP, moved to finalise the massive 20-year plan, reports bdnews24.com.
Several dialogues with planners, architects, engineers, environmentalist organisations, rehabilitation organisations, BLDA, civil society representatives, city corporations and municipality mayors brought about revisions for the final plan.
The public hearing for feedback on the draft DAP was held from September 2020 to January 2021. Authorities organised a national seminar on the draft DAP in November last year. The draft was revised based on views received in the seminar.
A cabinet committee formed to review the DAP sat on Dec 30 and it greenlighted the finalisation of the draft. The meeting decided that it be published as a gazette after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gives approval.