AN OBSERVER: We have talked about the urban poor and how NGOs are trying to intervene in the situation of poverty. The policy makers must understand these matters and make policies and implement dwse in a coordinated manner.

About the Ixxising issue. There is a national policy on housing adopted in 199.3. It says much about how to cope with the situation, about the urban land bank, about cooperation between all concerned. But this is still a draft. Yet a policy has to be fol lowed and sltould delineate the institutional framework for implementing this policy.

The policy talks about die credit, die urban bank. The saving propensity of the urban poor is quite high but. due to the poor conditions of habitat, it would not be practical to keep these savings in their baste This policy should be implemented in a clear cut manner. On World Ilabibat Day in 1993 the Minister said that the cabinet had accepted this policy.

Dr. Hannan. Institute of Post Graduate Studies: I want to point out the input-output ratio of oxygen and carbon dioxide. We need more oxygen for our survival, and the amount of carbon dioxide that we are releasing should be absorbed by other elements. 1 draw the attention of the Honourbie Chairman of R\JUK Mr. Khadim who can adequately take up diis matter. There lias to be a planned plantation of trees for both environmental balance and for recreational purposes.

Hie plantation is being carried out by different agencies, right from the DCC to RAJI TV. as well as by some NGOs in a sporadic manner, not in an organised way. From the airport to Dhaka City you find the beautiful Weeping 1 kbdarti trees which are rare elsewhere but common here. These trees are raised to Ilie ground by very high velocity winds. A simple bamboo of forty to fifty taka could save four or five trees, but no one is taking care of this. The Debdaru trees in the main city are being destroyed too, but no one bothers. So we should take up new plantation as well as take care of the old trees.

AN OBSERVER: It is being said that the citizens of Dhaka should be involved in the planning process. If we want effective participation of the Dhaka citizenry, a mechanism is needed. This mechanism can be a combination of the government and the private sector. Then there are many women in Dhaka who run dx-ir households, but they still have spare time. If we can organise this spare time in the community participation process, then it would be good. After all, mothers are very conscious of the environment so this will be effective.

AN OBSERVER: I have some sug grstions. One is. R.\Jl* must stop ha rawnert. RAJI K should only be given the planning sector, not plot allot ment. Then, make many one way roads for Dhaka. Abolish rickshaws immediately for this can bring about no solution to a traffic system in a metropolitan city. There should be more use of cycles. Honking of boms also disrupts the environment The haor in the Sobujbagh area should be deepened to preserve water for the city since we have problems with water.

TANVIR NAWAZ: 1 just want to emphasize some points I made earlier. The Daily Star is doing a wonder ful job in organising these roundta bles. The next one I may suggest should be specifically on the governance or management of Dhaka, where we can take up the institutional structure of Dhaka and how Dhaka should be run, the coordination and so on. As things are, we can spend a lot of money and not get anywhere.

The second point is aboutan urban management structure. We should encourage the government and the agencies to set up a coordination council of the various agencies. We should not wait for the Dhaka structure plan to emerge in another three years, half a year or whatever. Counter to that, we should also establish an urban coalition. This can be a coalition of urban poor, professionals, politicians, all coming together.

MAHFUZ ANAM: How do we get started on this urban coalition idea?

Prof. Mubashar Ali: Dhaka being the metropolitan centre does not have identification as other cities of Bangladesh. For example, in Chittagong there already is a coalition group which has raised different issues at different times. This is also true in Khulna.

.Ali Asghar, BUET: The minister said that the government is elected by one group and the City Corporation by another. Now diese people, in the government, in the Corporation, always think in terms of groups. They have lost the meaning of democracy. We citizens do not belong to any group. We vote for somebody because we think lie is more efficient If we find that he is not efficient, we vote for somebody else. The government when elected is the government of all the people, not only of the group. Same with the corporation. If the hawkers have voted for the Cor potation. the Corporation will think it has to save them. Or if the govern ment feels that a certain area has supported them, they go all out to develop that particular area. But the meaning of democ racy must be clear to those people who are benefitting most out of the concept. If we don't understand the exchange of Ideas, the meaning of democracy, it is pointless to have meetings and asso elation*.

The second thing is about com municarion. Simple technical plan ning can solve the problem. It is not more motiey or more vehicle: or more wide roads. In the morning you find countless people coming from the Gulshan area to their offic es in the city. And people from the city go to wards Gulshan or Banani. also going to their offices Why < ould their rest deni es not be around thdr offices' If my grandfather made a house in Gul shan. which would not possible because Gulshan didn't exist then, then I have to stay tliere. But why ? The first thing to do is divide Dhaka into ten cells. Every cell should be self-sufficient Peopk interested in universities, w hetix-r students, teach ers or other employees, they should live around the universities. This is a sort of replanning.

MAHFUZ ANAM: But can you force people to move if they don't want to move?

AU ASGHAR: You don't hare to force. If you nuke arrangements, they will move themselves. You have to first build the infrastructure. You should make it easy for peopk to move out of tlx-ir old houses to find a place near about their workplaces. If I have a flat in Gulshan, why cannot I sell it and buy one near my office? Some mobility has to be given. Our ideas are too fixed. The houses, workplaces, shopping centres, schools all should be within one sq. mile.

MAHFUZ ANAM: I tlunK this is a bit too idealistic. You are talking about a city that is already there, grow ing at six per cent per year. There is the problem of urban migration, of skims.

AN OBSERVER: The question is, how to increase community governance. Dhaka has a tradition in this aspect. That is reflected in the old system of Sardars. We caiuiot revive that system This is now nwtropolitan Dhaka. We come from all over. My parents have conw from Khulna. Me have to see how this functions in other metropolitan cities of the world.

If vou see the election manifesto of the candidates who contested for the office of mayor, you will see that they all have goals, but do not have the power to carry out these because when the British handed over this power to a local person, they gave him the responsibility just to sweep the roads, to control the sweepers and to look after the street lights, law and order was in tlx liaixis of the DC or the Deputy Magistrate.

There are 90 wards in Dhaka City with a ward commissioner each. If Dhaka is taken as a unit then these 90 ward commissioners and the Mayor form a parliament. In that case, some maixlati must be given as there is no such mandate. About law and order, at present all the Mayor can do is keep in contact with the police. About the roads, as soon as a road is made, someone else Comes and digs it up. We will have to refor mulate our structure with these 90 wards commissioners. Citizen com mittccs can work as pressure groups to float a partk ular topic. Someone just suggested to abolish rickshaws, but I think rickshaws are most effi cient. Baby taxks. auto rickshaws arc the most disturbing form ol transport If anything is to be abol ished it should br these bre auM of

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