'70pc city dwellers have no land'

They called for constructing high-rise buildings to provide permanent shelters to these landless people.

The roundtable on 'Permanent settlement for the urban poor: Rights of slum dwellers' was jointly organised by Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), Research Initiative Bangladesh (RIB) and Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

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BLAST Chairman Dr Kamal Hossain said it is the constitutional obligation of the government to provide shelters for all.

Without managing an alternative shelter, the slum-dwellers must not be evicted as it goes against the constitution, he added.

Dr Kamal said due to feudalistic attitude of the government, a lawmaker still gets five plots at a time from the Rajuk.

He said the lawmakers should be asked whether they have got to abide by the constitution.

Prof Nazrul Islam, chairman of the Centre for Urban Studies, underscored the need for public-private partnership in solving the housing problem.

He said housing projects have to be taken on an emergency basis for urban poor ranging from one million to two millions.

Prof Nazrul said as housing companies do not take any project for urban poor, there should be a provision that their licenses would be cancelled if they do not take at least one project for the poor against three projects for the rich a year.

He also stressed the need for a master plan to solve the problem of the slum dwellers.

Justice Naimuddin Ahmed, vice-chairman of the BLAST, said eviction of 40 to 42 lakh slum dwellers in the capital must be stopped before their rehabilitation.

Salma A Shafi, managing director of Sheltech, said 50 percent land of the city should be kept for poor people.

Moderated by RIB Chairman Shamsul Bari, the dialogue was also participated by

Hamida Hossain of Ain O Salish Kendra, Shirin Akhter of Karmojibi Nari, Mobasher Hossain of the Institute of Architects Bangladesh, and Nagor Miah of Bhashantek slum.

Bari said three organisations will form a committee after the Eid to monitor the eviction and development of government projects for the rehabilitation of the slum dwellers.