WITH only 28 authorised projects among the 263 showcased in the housing fair organised by the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh in the capital Dhaka in 2011, the High Court ordered Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha and other relevant authorities to stop sale of those unauthorised projects in the fair. Regrettably, however, the court’s orders seem to have fallen on deaf ears then. Unfortunately still, apparently getting emboldened by the apparent inaction of the regulatory bodies concerned, including Rajuk, the errant companies continue to sell their illegal projects in this year’s REHAB fair as well.
According to a report published in New Age on Friday, most of the housing projects showcased in the four-day housing fair, which was inaugurated by the communications minister on Thursday in the capital, do not have Rajuk approval. As a Rajuk member (estate) pointed out, while the regulatory authorities have given this year’s approval, that too with some conditions, to a few projects, about ten in number, as many as ‘161 companies are displaying their products in the fair’. What is more intriguing, neither Rajuk nor REHAB looks serious about reining in the defiant companies. While the former appears to have confined its activities just to monitoring the fair, by a vigilant team, if any unapproved projects are sold there, the latter tends to wash their hands of the issue by only asking their members ‘not to showcase unauthorised projects’ and advising people to be sure that the flats or plots they want to purchase are approved by Rajuk.  On the whole, it would not be an exaggeration to ask if there is any nexus between some corrupt quarters tied to the regulatory authority and the unscrupulous members of REHAB.
There has been a growing demand for plots and flats in urban and suburban areas in recent times. As such, it is hardly surprising that real estate companies will try to cash in on such a situation. What raises grave concern is that, in the absence of effective monitoring on the part of the authorities concerned, a number of companies have developed housing projects endangering environment of the city in violation of the relevant rules and regulations over the years which have preyed on innocent clients leading them eventually to ruination.
The government needs to come up with effective steps to make Rajuk and other relevant authorities active to immediately check trading of unauthorised housing projects not only in the capital but also in other urban areas across the country. Additionally, it also needs to streamline this sector in a stringent manner without any delay.