The interim government on Sunday approved in principle amendments to the Detailed Area Plan, raising the floor area ratio for buildings in the Dhaka city, which will allow construction companies and landowners to build taller buildings in the capital.
To the urban planers鈥� dismay, the change will increase the population density in almost all Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha areas in the already overcrowded city.
The government on the day also approved the draft Dhaka Metropolitan Building Construction Rules 2025, aligning them with the Bangladesh National Building Code 2020 and the DAP (2022鈥�2035) with the aim of ensuring sustainable and modern urban growth, according to a press release issued by the housing and public works ministry.
The approval was given at a meeting of the advisory committee on DAP implementation monitoring and amendment recommendation, held on Sunday at the housing and public works ministry with land adviser Ali Imam Majumder in the chair.
The revision to the Dhaka鈥檚 development master plan, designed to guide the city鈥檚 growth, was approved at the meeting, the press release said.
The revised DAP (2022鈥�2035) will soon be published in the government gazette, it said.
The committee reviewed issues related to the floor area ratio, the ratio of a building鈥檚 total floor area to the size of the lot it is on, population density, flood flow zones and agricultural land conservation.
Emphasising environmental sensitivity, the provision that previously allowed limited civic facilities on agricultural land has been revoked, according to the ministry鈥檚 press release.
Furthermore, the existing categories of 鈥榤ain water flow zone鈥� and 鈥榞eneral water flow zone鈥� will now be brought under the single term 鈥� 鈥榝lood flow zone,鈥� where all forms of construction will be prohibited, it said.
On August 10, the government鈥檚 advisory council decided to initiate the amendments to the capital鈥檚 development plan 鈥� barely two years after its past revision.
Adil Mohammad Khan, the president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, said that the revised DAP would not only increase building heights but also raise the population density in the already densely populated city.
Dhaka鈥檚 civic crises, including an acute shortage of essential services, crippling traffic congestion, frequent water stagnation and poor healthcare and education services, would worsen due to the DAP amendments under the real estate companies鈥� pressure, he said.
The president of the country鈥檚 top professional body of urban and regional planners said that the influx of additional residents into the city was expected to worsen these existing crises, further pushing Dhaka, which had already been ranked as one of the world鈥檚 least liveable cities, deeper into crises.
鈥業nstead of addressing the city鈥檚 numerous crises, the DAP has been repeatedly amended only to accommodate higher population density,鈥� Adil said.
In terms of the population density, Dhaka currently has a staggering 600 people an acre.
According to the United Nations鈥� guidelines for a healthy city, the maximum population density should be capped at 120 people an acre.
The DAP was gazetted in 2022 and revised in 2023 following pressure from real estate firms, allowing buildings two to four storeys higher than originally permitted.
Adil said that while the DAP initially proposed widening roads, creating playgrounds, schools and parks, and ensuring planned urban growth, none of these commitments had been implemented over the past three years.
Instead, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, the development authorities for the capital, and the housing ministry went for yet another revision of the plan in consultation with vested interest groups such as land developers and real estate companies, he added.
The changes will sharply raise the floor area ratio across different areas such as Khilkhet (from 2 to 4.4), Mirpur (2.8 to 3.4), Badda (2 to 3.3) and Rampura (2 to 3.5).
Earlier, on March 19, the advisory committee reviewed the proposed amendments to the DAP and instructed further verification. Following that directive, RAJUK and the ministry held about 35 stakeholder meetings before placing the final draft of the changes at Sunday鈥檚 meeting.
Key provisions of the approved draft Dhaka Metropolitan Building Construction Rules 2025 includes stricter control of building deviations (such as excessive void space, setbacks, land coverage and population density), mandatory approval of both architectural and structural designs considering disaster resilience, and the introduction of several measures to reduce client harassment.
For large-scale projects, prior approval will no longer be required, approval fees will be paid after receiving the construction recommendation. buildings on plots of five kathas or more must include a sewerage treatment plant.
The rules also include incentives for green buildings, formation of an appeal committee and simplification of approval procedures.聽
