Study on the role of the local level institutions in the development of Rajshahi City

Abstract

Rajshahi is the fourth largest metropolitan city of Bangladesh. The city was established as a district town in 1825 along the northern side of the River Padma. It was one of the first Municipalities in Bangladesh and was declared as City Corporation in 1991. The Rajshahi Town Development Authority, RDA was established in 1978 with a view to ensure planned development of the city. The first Master Plan for Rajshahi was prepared in 1984 but the plan was not implemented properly. Therefore the second Master Plan was prepared in 2004. Presently two Master plans, one is Drainage Master Plan (1994-2020) and another is Rajshahi Metropolitan Development Plan (2004-2024), are being implemented by RCC and RDA respectively. In addition two water supply master plans were also prepared by DPHE and RCC in 1981 and 1994 respectively. Though a number plans are being implemented by the local level institutions, the city seems to be facing a lot of problems despite such efforts. The city exhibits a low rate of urbanization compared to other growing urban centres of Bangladesh. The reasons of slow development are absence of economic investments on a significant scale and consequent lack of economic opportunities in urban Rajshahi. The research is conducted to study pattern of physical development of the city and also to find out the successes/failures of the local level institutions in the implementation of the planning proposals. Physical survey, questionnaire survey and official opinion survey were conducted to assess the role of the local level institutions. The study shows that a significant improvement has taken place in the provision of road networks, waste management and water supply. Implementation status of the Functional Master Plan and DAP also shows that only the roads are being partially implemented but the proposed other community facilities are not executed yet. Citizen’s perception also reveals that a significant improvement has been made in the provision of road networks, waste management, water supply but the improvement in other community facilities is not satisfactory. It is evident from the study that the local level institutions are unable to function properly due to lack of finance, political pressure, lack of coordination among the local level institutions and dependency on the central Government.