RAJUK breaches standards of residential projects, says town planner

The Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) had designed the Purbachal New Town Project to accommodate one million people. Although officials concerned claim that the project is of international standard, the reality is that it has developed many limitations.

The RAJUK had been sticking to the standards at the beginning of the project, officials said. But later, the number of plots started rising as the RAJUK bowed down to unsolicited pressure and squeezed parks, playgrounds and open space.

The Jhilmil Residential Project of Uttara (third phase) and Uttara Apartment Projects have faced the same fates. Besides, the standards were not maintained in the first and second phases of the Uttara project, officials said.

“Uttara residential project will have some 15,000 plots. If six people live in each apartment of 1,620 square feet, there will be about one lakh people living there. But there is only one English medium school, which is not enough for this people,” said Adil Muhammad Khan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners.

“There are many such issues with the RAJUK's housing projects. The required number of schools, colleges or educational institutions are not there on the sites. Also, there are shortages of parks, open spaces and playgrounds,” Adil Muhammad Khan told the Business Insider Bangladesh recently.

The design has simply been manipulated to increase the number of plots. In Purbachal, the original design has been tainted five times to create more plots.

Urban planners said the RAJUK has certain standards for residential estates. Some 12,500 people should live on 50 acres of land. Each unit should include three primary schools, two high schools, two parks and a water reservoir (on 1.5 acres of land). There will be three playgrounds, two community centres and two community clubs, respectively.

At the beginning of the Purbachal project, some 182 nursery and primary schools were planned. But according to its own criteria, there should have been 240 such institutions, said an official.

There should have been 360 secondary schools and colleges. But, the RAJUK had developed only 299. The original plan had incorporated 240 playgrounds but there are 138 playgrounds now.

The number of parks should have been 120 but actual parks are 61. According to the criteria, there should have been 720 acres of water body. But the current volume is little more than one third (260 acres).

The Uttara Third Phase project was planned to accommodate seven lakh people. Its volume of area is 2,006 acres. There are 2,275 plots here. But, this project does not have even half of the amenities that were supposed to have been in compliance with the standards.

Out of the proposed 15,000 flats in the Uttara Apartment Project, some 6,500 apartments have already been constructed on 214-acre of land. The project includes a school that has been leased to Northpoint English Medium School.

The 361-acre Jhilmil Residential Project has been made habitable for three lakh people. Although there were supposed to be 24 primary schools, it currently has only half of it. There are only two secondary schools and colleges at the Jhilmil.

Ashraful Islam, project director of the RAJUK's Detailed Area Plan (DAP), said this mismatches did take place as the number of people grew substantially over the years.

Later, the number of settlements in the projects increased. “If one million people lived in Purbachal, it would have been perfect,” he said.