Introduction

Since Bangladesh has entered a new period of construction boom including innovations in infrastructure, transportation, and significant economic growth, the demand for new construction and infrastructure is increasing, the legal problems relating to Construction Law in Bangladesh are also rising. The Contract Act 1872; the Building Construction Act 1952; the Building Construction Rules 1996; the Private Residential Project Land Development Rules 2004; the Public Procurement Act 2006; the Public Procurement Rules 2008; the Dhaka Metropolitan Building (Construction, Development, Preservation and Demolition) Rules 2008; the Real Estate Development and Management Act 2010; the Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Act 2017; the Bangladesh Economic Zones (Construction of Building) Rules 2017; the Bangladesh National Building Code 2020, all are falls under the domain of Construction law in Bangladesh. In this article, we will focus on the implementation of the Bangladesh National Building Code.

Overview of BNBC

Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), compiled in 1993 and enacted into law in 2006, and the Building Construction Act 1952, which has been amended 2006, empowered the BNBC as a legally binding document which purport to provide safe and orderly building in Bangladesh, especially in Dhaka, where the urban population almost tripled between 1974 (6.27 million people) and 2001 (more than 28 million).[1] BNBC comprises of planning, designs, materials, fire and safety protection, classes of occupation, occupancy density, building height, whereas the Act is concerned with legal process, the mode of enforcement, and punishment of offense. These legislations depend on Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to impose regulations on matters such as construction without the permission of RAJUK to ensure the safety of society.[2]

Legal Discussion of BNBC

Since 1974, Bangladesh has experienced a dramatic increase in residents in urban regions; 28.61 million as compared to 6.27 million reported in 2001, and projections in 2015 are at 67.9 million. This form of rapid urbanization has also resulted in uncontrolled urban sprawling, which poses high safety hazards due to uncontrolled construction. Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) can serve as a solution to these concerns, particularly by establishing standards that can be used to control construction, make the buildings safe and keep the cities livable, and help prevent the hazards of uncontrolled building. As per we see, The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) has a good legal backing system that guarantees safe and orderly construction by means of the primary Building Construction Act, 1952, which prescribes guidelines on issuing notices (Section 3), management of sanctions (Section 3B), and demolition (Section 9) to regulate building activities. There are some provisions to further enhance the role of RAJUK that can be observed through the introduction of measures such as Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and the clearly demarcated front in terms of the duty of designers and engineers to oversee the development. The Land Development Rules in Private Housing, 2004, are also additional to the BNBC as they provide guidance on land use, the permitted distance between buildings, and community facilities in the development of projects in private housing. There is evidence, as seen in the case of A. Rouf Chowdhury and another vs Bangladesh and others, 20 BLD (HCD) 537[3] to indicate the relevance of accountability and due processes in RAJUK, which will ensure the effectiveness of enforcement compared to legal regulations and safeguarding the rights of citizens.

Since the mandatory establishment of the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC), some improvements have taken place regarding its revision, which was started in 2009 by HBRI and BUET to accommodate the socio-economic and environmental requirements, making the city more accommodating of safer urban space. Nevertheless, it will have major obstacles in its implementation. Lack of a specific Code Enforcement Authority undermines the control and RAJUK is challenged in having insufficient planners and inspectors working on the 12 million people of Dhaka resulting in poor control.[4]  The result of the centralized structure of RAJUK is inefficiency and the acceptance of laxity in the rule of the roost since it was possible to see results in situations such as Japan Garden City[5], wherein violations of the setback and density provisions resulted in unsafe conditions. Judicial cases Judicial cases (such as Abul Kashem (Md) vs Chairman, RAJUK and others 52 DLR 488)[6], have exposed to factor of pursuing the procedures, and improper behaviour of RAJUK, causing further weakening of enforcement.[7] Such cases of tragic disasters as the Begunbari collapse in 2010, Nimtoli fire and the Phoenix Garments collapse in 2006 underscore the deadly nature of such gaps in enforcement and they enforce the need to implement better enforcement to secure the safety of the general population.[8][9]

Conclusion

The Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) 2006, and the Building Construction Act, 1952, amount to one of the most crucial frameworks in the regulation and sustainable safe construction in Bangladesh, more so in the urbanizing environment of Dhaka. The BNBC provides an urgent solution to the unmanageable urban sprawl by addressing the requirements of control through the comprehensive technical standards that have been laid down in planning, design, materials, and safety. Nonetheless, lack of a dedicated Code Enforcement Authority and operational window of RAJUK, i.e., limited workforce and centralized inefficiencies, has not allowed effective implementation that can be seen through disasters such as collapse at Begunbari in the year 2010 and breach in projects. Case law, such as that in Mohammad Amir Hossain v. RAJUK and A. Rouf Chowdhury and another Vs Bangladesh and others,[10] has made it clear that accountability, due process, and effective means of enforcement must be employed to ensure the aims of the BNBC. In order to make the BNBC more fruitful in making urban locations much safer, Bangladesh should plug these enforcement holes by creating a dedicated policy-making organization, strengthening the capacity of the RAJUK with the proper resources, and ensuring a strengthening in compliance with rules. Such measures are also necessary to avoid the threats that the high tempo of urbanization holds, protect the interests of people, and make the development sustainable in view of the continuous construction boom in Bangladesh.