Sylhet Bureau

Sylhet Unnayan Kartripakkhya' (Sylhet Development Authority), Bill, 2023 was passed at Jatiya Sangsad with a view to accelerating the development activities of Sylhet city on Thursday .

Housing and Public Works Minister Sharif Ahmed moved the bill in the House and it was unanimously passed by voice votes with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

Piloting the bill, the minister said the government had taken the initiative to form the Sylhet Unnayan Kartripakkhya in a bid to bring well-planned development in Sylhet with a view to establishing a modern and attractive tourist city in Sylhet city and the adjoining areas.

From this view of point, 'The Sylhet Development Authority Bill' was placed in the Parliament almost 23 years after the formation of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC).

The draft of the proposed 'Sylhet Development Authority Act' was prepared in 2020. Later, it was approved in the Cabinet.

The formation of the proposed Sylhet Development Authority (SDA) has been delayed as the successive elected mayors and some others were allegedly not interested in such a move fearing loss of their absolute dominance over the activities of the city corporation.

Mayor elect of Sylhet City Corporation Anwaruzzaman Chowdhury appreciated the government's move to form the SDA.

He said that the government took the step to form the SDA for proper implementation of development programmes.

Eight sections were incorporated into the proposed law- 'Sylhet Development Authority Act'. It has many sub-sections and 55 articles.

According to the proposed law, the SDA will be formed with a 17-member body, including chairman. Other members are-- three government nominated members, deputy commissioner (DC) of Sylhet, Police Super, SCC's chief executive officer, deputy secretary-rank representatives from ministry of land, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, representative from ministry of civil aviation and tourism, representative from urban planning department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), executive engineer of Sylhet Public Works Department, representative from Sylhet Architecture Department, and representative from Sylhet Chamber and Commerce.

Three other government nominated members, including a woman, will also be included in the SDA. Three members will come from the SDA area.

Sylhet city is situated on the bank of Surma River. In 1995, the government had declared Sylhet as the sixth divisional headquarters of the country.

The Sylhet Municipality was formed in 1867 and it was upgraded to city corporation on April 9 in 2001.

Some people from Sylhet said that formation of Sylhet Development Authority is important to avoid unplanned urbanization in Sylhet city area.

The number of people in Sylhet city is increasing day by day, while unplanned urbanization is also on the rise. Dense settlements have developed in many parts of the city without any planning.

The Sylhet Development Authority is needed for controlling such acts.