Dhaka’s existing civic crises will worsen if the government once again amends the Detailed Area Plan under the pressure of real estate companies, the Bangladesh Institute of Planners warned on Wednesday.
At a press conference held at its Banglamotor office in the capital, the country’s top professional body of urban and regional planners said that unchecked amendments — particularly those allowing higher building heights — would fuel problems in housing, transport, open space and civic services.
On August 10, the government’s advisory council decided to initiate another amendment to the capital’s development plan — barely two years after its last revision.
In the new draft, authorities have once again proposed increasing the permissible building height, known in planning terms as the floor area ratio.
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.
‘Dhaka is already one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Instead of addressing the city’s numerous crises, the DAP has been repeatedly amended only to accommodate higher population density,’ said Bangladesh Institute of Planners president Adil Mohammad Khan.
He noted 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, development authorities for the capital, and the housing ministry have moved to draft yet another revision of the plan in consultation with vested interest groups such as land developers and real estate companies.
The proposed changes would sharply raise floor area ratio limits across multiple areas, including Khilkhet (from 2 to 4.4), Mirpur (2.8 to 3.4), Badda (2 to 3.3) and Rampura (2 to 3.5), among others.
Planners argued that increasing FAR without a proportional rise in public amenities would severely aggravate traffic congestion, housing affordability, utility services and overall urban liveability.
‘Dhaka is no longer capable of absorbing additional population pressure,’ said BIP vice-president Syed Shahriar Amin. ‘The DAP is supposed to be revised every five years to improve the city’s liveability. But instead of improving, amendments are being made to destroy an already paralysed city.’
According to the BIP, Dhaka’s current population density is already three times higher than the maximum recommended standard of 120 persons an acre.
Planners also alleged that some architects are working in collusion with realtors to push through ‘devastating’ amendments. They called on the government to uphold zoning regulations and prioritise planned development over profit-driven construction.
BIP board member Tamzidul Islam said, ‘About 70 per cent of participants in the DAP amendment meetings represent realtors, who are profit-seeking groups. But there is no representation of tenants, who make up the majority of Dhaka’s residents.’
He warned that without expanding roads, increasing open spaces and investing in healthcare, education, and civic services, rising FAR will ‘spell destruction for the city.’
The institute also announced that it was preparing to file a public interest case if the government proceeds with amending the DAP for 15,528 square kilometres area without incorporating expert opinion. The BIP said that it would also raise the matter with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, also known as UN-Habitat.
Planners said that while no visible steps had been taken to implement the DAP in the past three years, it had already been amended once and was now facing a second round of revisions.
Urban planners and civic activists also attended the event.