Presenting Author: Uchendu Eugene Chigbu The Limitations Of Formal Land Delivery System: Need For A Pro-poor Urban Land Development Policy In Dhaka, Bangladesh Presenting Author: Uchendu Eugene Chigbu Fahria Masum1, Uchendu Eugene Chigbu1, Jorge Espinoza2 and Christian Graefen2 Chair of Land Management, Technical University of Munich, Germany. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Eschborn, Germany.

Introduction Over 3 billion people now live in cities. Africa and Asia will become 56% and 64% urban by 2050 (United Nations, 2014). Management of land development will remain a challenge. As a way forward, and based on evidences from Dhaka, this study presents possible ideas for pro-poor urban land development policy.

Theoretical Issues Land development is more than a transition of land from one use to another. It involves changes in property relations, landownership patterns, etc. Urban land development is not monolithic. It involves urban, peri-urban and rural actors in formal and informal ways.

Case Study: Dhaka, Bangladesh Dhaka is a mega city with a population over 14 million. It has sprawled from an area of 335.79 km2 to 1530 km2 within the past 30 years. Investigations of formal land development in relation to slums areas in Khilkhet (near Bashundhara residential area)

Findings - 1 Two main sources of formal land delivery system RAJUK (Capital Development Authority), formal public sector Private commercial firms: formal private sector Formal land development is beyond the means of low and middle income group (applicable both for RAJUK and private commercial firms). Land delivery system is not efficient and may take between 2 to 6 years (applicable both for RAJUK and private commercial firms). RAJUK’s plots allotment process is not transparent.

Findings - 2 Type of approval Period Actual practice RAJUK’s Role Permission validity Land use clearance 30 days 90 days 30 days to approve application with or without any conditions. Chairman will receive application and further rejection will cause an appeal to Urban Development Committee. The committee will recommend or reject within 30 days. Validity up to 24 months from the date of approval Building permission 45 days 12-24 months Within 45 days a complete application will be approved. For incomplete application, RAJUK will allow 15 days for re-submission. Failure in resubmission within 30 days will result to cancelation. 24 months Informal land development is a consequence of cumbersome nature of land project approval process Time required for planning permission for residential building construction

Implications and Recommendations There is need for a pro-poor urban land development policy in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Such a policy should ensure that low income groups have access to land within the formal way at the price they can afford. This is possible if an urban land development policy embraces: Flexible approval processes. Reduced building standards (for land owners and occupiers) to fit the needs of low income group. Affordable approval process for land owners (i.e. incremental land development policy).

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