Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha

Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (, RAJUK) is a Bangladeshi public agency responsible for coordinating urban development in Dhaka. RAJUK is composed of various public officials, city planners, urban administrators, engineers, and architects. It is the National Authoritative Board on building planning, estates and resources, plot allotment, and construction approvals from both public and private entities. It utilizes the Dhaka Improvement Trust (Allotment of Land) Rule of 1969 and The Town Improvement Act of 1953, both scribed since before the Independence of Bangladesh.

History

The Dhaka Improvement Trust (DIT) was established in 1956 under the Town Development Act of 1953 (East Bengal Act), tasked with executing development projects for Dhaka, Narayanganj, and surrounding areas. Its administrative framework consisted of a 13-member board of trustees.

In 1959, the DIT sanctioned the first master plan for Dhaka following the British colonial period. Initially covering an area of , the plan, formulated by British planners Minoprio, Spencely, and MacFarlane, was later expanded to . The primary aim of the 1959 Master Plan was to offer a comprehensive strategy for managing the anticipated rapid population growth of Dhaka. However, it fell short of its goals, as the population surpassed the planning targets by threefold.

The rapid urbanisation of Dhaka and its surroundings in the 1970s and '80s posed significant development challenges. To address these, amendments were made to the administrative and legal structure of the DIT. The Town Improvement (Amendment) Act of 1987 resulted in the transformation of the DIT into the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Capital City Development Authority). Under this act, the organisation's operational jurisdiction was expanded to in 1991, accommodating a population of nearly seven million.

In 1995, the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) was formulated for the period of 1995 to 2015, comprising three tiers: the Structure Plan, Urban Area Plan, and Detailed Area Plan. Under the Structure Plan, RAJUK devised comprehensive schemes for various zones of the Dhaka Metropolitan city, outlining planned development strategies, proposed street locations, and infrastructure layouts to enhance citizen convenience. The project's timeline has been extended until 2035. Additionally, the Urban Area Plan encompasses the development policy for the existing vicinity areas under RAJUK's jurisdiction.

Structure

RAJUK operates under a board consisting of a chairperson and up to five members, all appointed by the government. The chairperson, equivalent to an Additional Secretary, serves as the chief executive of RAJUK. Each member, equivalent to Joint-Secretary level, holds specific responsibilities within one of the five divisions: development and engineering; estate and land; finance, budget and accounts; planning; and architecture. All board members are full-time officials.

Activities

It carries out drives against building code violations in Dhaka City. This is challenging as policing of illegal development is limited. The agency is supposed to generate revenue from city land, which many feel conflicts with its strategic and planning functions.

RAJUK projects

* Uttara Apartment Project
* Purbachal New Town
* Jhilmil Residential Project
* Urban Resilience Project

References

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Government agencies of Bangladesh
1956 establishments in East Pakistan
1987 establishments in Bangladesh
Organisations based in Dhaka
Government of Dhaka