The country's realtors have demanded cancellation of a proposal made for the height limit on new residential buildings in Dhaka city in the detailed area plan (DAP).
They think such cap would hurt their business and make the capital city exclusive only for high-income people.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) recently sent a letter to LGRD and Co-operatives Minister Tajul Islam, seeking his interference in the matter.
They also requested him to discuss the issue with stakeholders including realtors before finalising the plan.
LGRD minister Tajul Islam is the convener of the DAP implementation committee.
A proposal had been made recently under the DAP 2035 of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the capital city development authority, to limit the height of residential buildings in the city to eight-storey aiming to make the city a liveable and planned one through population density zoning.
The limit for buildings in Gazipur and Narayanganj City Corporation and Savar Municipality had been set at six-storey in the proposal.
However, two more floors can be allowed in densely-populated areas on special conditions, according to the DAP 2035 proposal.
REHAB president Alamgir Shamsul Alamin (Kajal) told the FE that they requested the minister to reinstate the floor area ratio (FAR) as per Building Construction Rules 2008 instead of 8-storey ceiling of DAP.
The floor area ratio is the relationship between the total amount of usable floor area that a building has, or has been permitted to have, and the total area of the lot on which the building stands.
A higher ratio would likely indicate a dense of urban construction.
Mr Kajal said DAP had emphasised on the density of Dhaka city's population while drafting the plan.
"The DAP calculates the density in Dhaka on the basis of 20 million people. But around 10 million people in Dhaka city live in proper houses while the rest 10 million in slums or unplanned areas."
He said construction of 80,000 sqft building is possible on one bigha land as per Building Construction Rules 2008, but according to DAP, it would be possible to use only 50,000 sq ft.
"So, construction costs will rise sharply. And even higher middle-income people cannot afford to buy an apartment."
Mr Kajal said the country is running out of cultivable land. "Such ceiling will increase use of agricultural land for building homes."
The REHAB president suggested that the government should make plan for decentralisation of Dhaka so that an excessive number of people do not migrate to the capital city.
He said policymakers and DAP want realtors to go outside Dhaka to build homes, but urban facilities are not available everywhere.
"We are ready to go outside Dhaka but if urban facilities including water supply, gas, roads, electricity are not ensured, how realtors would build apartments," he said.
The committee for Implementation of Detailed Area Plan (DAP), headed by the local government minister, held several meetings recently for the implementation of DAP.
LGRD ministry sources said the final decision on the implementation of DAP would be taken soon in consultation with city corporations.
