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SAVAR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Confusion over approval body

MORSHED ALI KHAN
Confusion has arisen as to who should have monitored the illegal construction of the nine-storey Spectrum Sweater Industries Ltd. building in Palashbari, Savar, which collapsed in the early hours of April 11, leaving 75 workers dead and 97 missing.
Cantonment Board officials claim they are responsible for scrutinising, approving and monitoring all construction sites in the board's jurisdiction, according to the Cantonment Act 1 977. In Palashbari, they claimed the Cantonment Board approves construction designs of all the private,
military and other buildings.
But the authority for approval really belongs to Rajuk, according to Md Shahid Alam, the Chairman of Rajuk. He explained that in 1997, when the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) or the Master Plan was launched, 590 square miles of area were incorporated under Rajuk's jurisdiction through a gazette notification, which legally compels all 'civilian structures' to be approved by Rajuk. But due to 'the lack of dissemination of the information,' the news of the gazette did not reach the concerned authorities.
"Traditionally the Cantonment
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Board in Savar and the Municipality in Tongi have been approving plans for buildings and this has not changed despite the fact that the law only allows Rajuk to approve all civil constructions in its jurisdiction," Alam said.
For this reason, the Spectrum authorities submitted an application for permission to construct a four-storey building in 2003 to the Cantonment Board, not Rajuk, according to Cantonment Board sources.
Having inspected the site and the land documents, army engineers agreed in principal that permission could be given to construct a four-storey building. The Spectrum authorities then submitted a fee of Tk 5 for every square foot of floor space to obtain a "Technical Clearance". The owners also submitted seven copies of construction designs for the proposed four-storey building.
An official source, quoting the existing law, said that after the approval of the designs, the owners are required to take back six copies of the design for the engineers,
architects and others to use during the construction.
"But Spectrum authorities never showed up for the copies and we have no idea how they constructed such a building without consulting the designs," said a source from the Savar cantonment.
When the building was being constructed, there was no monitoring or inspection by the cantonment authorities, which were apparently unaware of the rapid construction of the building.
It was remains uncertain how the construction continued in proximity to the Savar cantonment without detection by the authorities.
Some sources have said the owner of the ill-fated building is so influential that "he hardly cared" for any sort of "official or technical procedure" involved in the construction of the nine-storey building.
Although sources in the Cantonment Board said they would soon decide what action to take against the offenders, the Detective Branch, which is investigating the case, has yet to nab the alleged criminals.