Agenda for Urban Poor
- Housing should be considered as a social function of the state. The City Corporation should prepare a comprehensive plan in coordination with the government and other state agencies to perform such a fundamental function.
- An Action Plan should be prepared to carry out this function on the basis of individual needs and ability to pay.
- Recognizing the principle “Right to land or housing,” sweeping urban land-use policy reforms should be undertaken. The illegal occupation of land is a major source of violence in the city.
- "Maximum retention - minimum dislocation” should be the basic principle of such reform.
- Slum upgrading, core and co-operative housing should be made part of such a reform by way of “on site development” and “around city relocation.”
- Adequate basic physical and social infrastructures should be provided in these sites, like;
- Education,
- Sports and cultural activities,
- Health care,
- Water,
- Sewerage,
- Electricity,
- Gas, and
- Transport system to and from the main urban centres.
- Labor oriented urban planning should be undertaken.
- Participation of beneficiaries, NGOs and CBOs shall be ensured in all phases i.e. policy formulation, preparation of action plan and the process of implementation.
- Real Estate Developers should be encouraged, by way of providing fiscal incentive, to build at least 30% of their construction at a very low cost and low cost housing on the basis of compact township sectors.
- The City Corporation will co-ordinate and cooperate with the government and the BGMEA for early implementation of “Garment Palli” (village) to shift Garment Industries as soon as possible, so that the City Corporation’s “around the city relocation” and “very low cost housing development” can be effectively implemented. Such co-ordination and cooperation shall ensure that any new influx will not frustrate the slum upgrading effort.
- The City Corporation should coordinate with the private sector and government to ensure similar arrangements for other industries which require a large number of low-paid workers i.e. tanneries, plastics and packaging industries, motor workshops etc.
- The City Corporation should undertake specific programs in cooperation with NGOs to rehabilitate beggars in some productive occupation.
- The City Corporation should coordinate with the Housing and Settlement Department and other relevant authorities and land-owners to ensure that all unused lands which are now illegally occupied and turned into crime dens are cleared up, and slum dwellings are properly developed. However, part of such lands should also be turned into parks, playgrounds, woodlands, etc., for recreational purposes.
- In cooperation with Citizens’ Committees, NGOs and the Department of Social Welfare, the City Corporation should set up sufficient number of Rehabilitation Centres and specialized Homes to attend to:
- Beggars,
- Very old and lonely people,
- Drug-addicted people,
- Poor and destitute children.
