The requirement for City Corporation approval for building constructions would only increase the suffering of real estate traders.
Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) President Alamgir Shamsul Alamin came up with the assertion at a press conference at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the capital on Saturday.
“RAJUK and its manpower have gained a capacity in this work. They have long-term (50 years) experience. However, the City Corporation do not have the necessary manpower nor the structure at the moment. As a result, the suffering will increase several times,” he said.
The leader of the association also said that if the city corporation gets the responsibility of approving the construction of infrastructure, it will create a dual administration.
Alamgir Shamsul Alamin said, “REHAB has been demanding the introduction of one-stop-service for a long time to reduce the suffering. Instead, new agencies are being added, which will only make matters worse.”
He also said that the decision should be reconsidered as RAJUK has half a century of experience. It should continue its responsibility of planning and overseeing planned installations.
Speaking at the press conference, REHAB vice-president Kamal Mahmud said, “Before 2019, there was a provision to get clearance from the city corporation for the construction of more than 10 storied multi-storey buildings. However, in 2019, in order to facilitate and expedite the process of passing the plan, RAJUK introduced a simple process of getting approval from three organisations instead of 10 previously approved organisations.”
Sohail Rana, another vice-president of the organisation, said that the new decision would not be a good initiative and would increase harassment of those who submit plans.
According to the new decision, the city corporation will make arrangements for regular monitoring of the approved installations and if the city corporation thinks that the RAJUK approved infrastructure is not beneficial for the city, they will be able to halt the work of that infrastructure.
As per real estate professionals, the decision, if implemented, would be irrational. Builders will be the victims of contradictory terms of approval of different supervisory bodies. Giving the two administrations the responsibility of one task will only increase the suffering of the people.