businesses in residential areas

Eviction a �tough� task

When Arman Mahmud, co-owner of a popular fast food joint of the city, wanted to open his first outlet, he sought a proper commercial place. Years of living in the West prompted him to go through the proper channels while establishing a commercial entity. But after a month, he was tired and frustrated with the results of his month-long search. “The rent of spaces in commercial places was exorbitant. Besides, I was asked to pay bribes at a lot of places to get an allotment in the commercial zones,” he said. So, he chose the next best option. He rented a floor in a residential building.  “Though the building was located inside a residential area, it already had other commercial establishments, including a car shop and a saloon. The rent was decent and as I had a small budget with which to open up my business, I took the place,” he said. “If I could get a place in a commercial zone with my budget, I would have rented it. But the rents of spaces in commercial zones are astronomically high and I couldn’t afford these,” he added. Meanwhile, Zahid Hossain, the owner of a grocery shop inside the residential area of Dhanmondi, said he deliberately opened his shop inside the residential area. “I have been living in this area since I was born. During my childhood, this area was purely residential, and we needed to go far to buy our regular household supplies. Suppose you wanted a packet of biscuits as some guests had come to your home—you would have to take a rickshaw ride at that time to get to the nearest shop,” he added.
To facilitate matters, Zahid said he first opened the grocery shop in the garage of the building where he lived. “It became popular. I made good profits and expanded the shop. Later, others followed my footsteps, and opened more shops,” he added.
Like Arman and Zahid, many aspiring entrepreneurs choose buildings inside residential areas as places to establish their businesses. This has led to the uncontrolled growth of commercial establishments in the capital city.
To put a cap on such untrammelled growth and to restore the residential ambient, the Cabinet committee recently decided that unapproved institutions and commercial establishments must leave the residential areas in Dhaka city within the next six months.
The Cabinet also decided to close down guesthouses and hotels in the residential areas. If such commercial establishments are not closed down, gas, electricity and water supplies to these will be snapped. Besides, the government will not realise any tax or valued added tax (VAT) from the unauthorised institutions.
Business-owners like Arman have lauded the government decision. He, however, said, “We support the government only if it makes no exception to the rule and comes up with a proper contingency plan.” He also wondered how would small businesses survive if prices of commercial properties skyrocket all the time.  “I am the owner of a fast food joint and if the rent of commercial spaces cannot be reduced, then it would affect the middle class customer, as food prices would go up due to increase in overhead. Besides, it will cause unemployment, as many restaurants will shut down due to increasing overheads and lack of commercial spaces,” he said. Talking to The Independent, Tausif-Uz-Zaman, vice president of Dhanmondi-Lalmatia Development Society (DLDS), said many of the house-owners have themselves started business ventures in their houses in Dhanmondi and Lalmatia areas. He also said that one successful business venture prompts others to do the same and they enjoy favours from many influential people of society.
In June 2012, the High Court declared illegal all commercial operations in Dhanmondi residential area, and directed the authorities to remove such institutions to preserve the area’s residential character and environment. The verdict was delivered on a writ petition asking the government authorities to set a timeline and issue notices to the owners of those institutions, asking them to shift their operations from the area.
This decision, however, did not include activities of authorised commercial establishments on Mirpur Road, Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi-2 and Dhanmondi-27 areas.
Tausif-Uz-Zaman said the government, at different times, has earmarked certain parts of residential area as commercial zones. “The problem is that even those areas are saturated with commercial establishments. Now the expansion has started inside the residential areas,” he added.
He said the problem with the house-owners is that they, too, want to rent out their places to commercial establishments because the commercial entities pay more.
Barrister Omar Sadat, secretary general of Gulshan Society, said many people in Gulshan area are violating the norms of a residential zone. “They took the plots for living there, but later started running guesthouses or other businesses,” he added.
He noted that government and private offices, community centres, rest houses, hospitals and clinics, English medium schools and boutiques are seen all over Gulshan. “Huge traffic snarls caused by the commercial and business entities have made the lives of people in this area miserable,” he said.
He felt that the primary responsibility to preserve these the residential characteristics of these areas lies with those who reside there. “The government authorities also need to take action. The latest initiative of the Cabinet is praiseworthy and Gulshan Society welcomes that decision,” he said.
Md Golam Mostafa, director of the development control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkhya (RAJUK), told The Independent that RAJUK has prepared an initial list of unauthorised commercial establishments in different areas. “We have over 5,000 names on that list. We will conduct our drives after getting the direction from the housing and public works ministry,” he said. Sirajul Islam, RAJUK’s director of town planning, said the conversion from residential to commercial status has occurred with the government’s high-level decisions from time to time. As the single commercial area of Motijheel cannot accommodate rising business activities of the expanding capital city, commercial establishments are gradually making their way into residential areas. Since the demolition of all commercial setups, built over the years, was practically impossible, the government has given those residential areas ‘residential-commercial’ status, Sirajul Islam said, adding that in many cases, the decision was taken at the government’s policymaking level and the matter was not even placed in RAJUK’s planning section. M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury, additional secretary of the housing and public works ministry, told The Independent that removing all the commercial establishments from the residential areas would not be an easy task. “All the government entities would have to work in tandem to do that.”

businesses in residential areas

Eviction a �tough� task

When Arman Mahmud, co-owner of a popular fast food joint of the city, wanted to open his first outlet, he sought a proper commercial place. Years of living in the West prompted him to go through the proper channels while establishing a commercial entity. But after a month, he was tired and frustrated with the results of his month-long search. The rent of spaces in commercial places was exorbitant. Besides, I was asked to pay bribes at a lot of places to get an allotment in the commercial zones, he said. So, he chose the next best option. He rented a floor in a residential building. Though the building was located inside a residential area, it already had other commercial establishments, including a car shop and a saloon. The rent was decent and as I had a small budget with which to open up my business, I took the place, he said. If I could get a place in a commercial zone with my budget, I would have rented it. But the rents of spaces in commercial zones are astronomically high and I couldnt afford these, he added. Meanwhile, Zahid Hossain, the owner of a grocery shop inside the residential area of Dhanmondi, said he deliberately opened his shop inside the residential area. I have been living in this area since I was born. During my childhood, this area was purely residential, and we needed to go far to buy our regular household supplies. Suppose you wanted a packet of biscuits as some guests had come to your homeyou would have to take a rickshaw ride at that time to get to the nearest shop, he added. To facilitate matters, Zahid said he first opened the grocery shop in the garage of the building where he lived. It became popular. I made good profits and expanded the shop. Later, others followed my footsteps, and opened more shops, he added. Like Arman and Zahid, many aspiring entrepreneurs choose buildings inside residential areas as places to establish their businesses. This has led to the uncontrolled growth of commercial establishments in the capital city. To put a cap on such untrammelled growth and to restore the residential ambient, the Cabinet committee recently decided that unapproved institutions and commercial establishments must leave the residential areas in Dhaka city within the next six months. The Cabinet also decided to close down guesthouses and hotels in the residential areas. If such commercial establishments are not closed down, gas, electricity and water supplies to these will be snapped. Besides, the government will not realise any tax or valued added tax (VAT) from the unauthorised institutions. Business-owners like Arman have lauded the government decision. He, however, said, We support the government only if it makes no exception to the rule and comes up with a proper contingency plan. He also wondered how would small businesses survive if prices of commercial properties skyrocket all the time. I am the owner of a fast food joint and if the rent of commercial spaces cannot be reduced, then it would affect the middle class customer, as food prices would go up due to increase in overhead. Besides, it will cause unemployment, as many restaurants will shut down due to increasing overheads and lack of commercial spaces, he said. Talking to The Independent, Tausif-Uz-Zaman, vice president of Dhanmondi-Lalmatia Development Society (DLDS), said many of the house-owners have themselves started business ventures in their houses in Dhanmondi and Lalmatia areas. He also said that one successful business venture prompts others to do the same and they enjoy favours from many influential people of society. In June 2012, the High Court declared illegal all commercial operations in Dhanmondi residential area, and directed the authorities to remove such institutions to preserve the areas residential character and environment. The verdict was delivered on a writ petition asking the government authorities to set a timeline and issue notices to the owners of those institutions, asking them to shift their operations from the area. This decision, however, did not include activities of authorised commercial establishments on Mirpur Road, Satmasjid Road, Dhanmondi-2 and Dhanmondi-27 areas. Tausif-Uz-Zaman said the government, at different times, has earmarked certain parts of residential area as commercial zones. The problem is that even those areas are saturated with commercial establishments. Now the expansion has started inside the residential areas, he added. He said the problem with the house-owners is that they, too, want to rent out their places to commercial establishments because the commercial entities pay more. Barrister Omar Sadat, secretary general of Gulshan Society, said many people in Gulshan area are violating the norms of a residential zone. They took the plots for living there, but later started running guesthouses or other businesses, he added. He noted that government and private offices, community centres, rest houses, hospitals and clinics, English medium schools and boutiques are seen all over Gulshan. Huge traffic snarls caused by the commercial and business entities have made the lives of people in this area miserable, he said. He felt that the primary responsibility to preserve these the residential characteristics of these areas lies with those who reside there. The government authorities also need to take action. The latest initiative of the Cabinet is praiseworthy and Gulshan Society welcomes that decision, he said. Md Golam Mostafa, director of the development control of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkhya (RAJUK), told The Independent that RAJUK has prepared an initial list of unauthorised commercial establishments in different areas. We have over 5,000 names on that list. We will conduct our drives after getting the direction from the housing and public works ministry, he said. Sirajul Islam, RAJUKs director of town planning, said the conversion from residential to commercial status has occurred with the governments high-level decisions from time to time. As the single commercial area of Motijheel cannot accommodate rising business activities of the expanding capital city, commercial establishments are gradually making their way into residential areas. Since the demolition of all commercial setups, built over the years, was practically impossible, the government has given those residential areas residential-commercial status, Sirajul Islam said, adding that in many cases, the decision was taken at the governments policymaking level and the matter was not even placed in RAJUKs planning section. M Bazlul Karim Chowdhury, additional secretary of the housing and public works ministry, told The Independent that removing all the commercial establishments from the residential areas would not be an easy task. All the government entities would have to work in tandem to do that.