The move is intended to protect the general public from falling prey to flashy and manipulative publicity of illegal projects. Once the list is made public, customers will be able to identify the authorised and unauthorised housing projects.

The authorities are working on making the list of housing projects approved so far in the private sector, said Rajuk Chairman KAM Haroon.

Rajuk will put the plan of an approved housing project on display specifying exact area and blocks. It will also issue notice asking the prospective buyers to come to Rajuk and check out authenticity of a private housing project.

"We are now going to invite tender for installation of necessary arrangements for display of approved plans and other documents at Rajuk building," said the Rajuk chairman.

The general people, aspiring to purchase a housing plot at any private project in an area within the Rajuk jurisdiction, will now have an opportunity to check legal status of a housing project before making a purchase deal with the developer.

Detailed and specific information on the projects that got approval during 1984-98, long before various legislations on environmental and wetland conservation and private housing project land development rules of 2004 were framed, would be publicised.

Most of such projects are completed and unknown to the public.

Rajuk Board used to deal with approval of private housing projects before legal instruments like Wetland Conservation Act of 2000, Environment Conservation Act of 1995, Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMD) of 1995 and Private Housing Project Land Development Rules of 2004 were in place.

As per Rajuk records, no ongoing private housing projects have approval under the Private Housing Project Land Development Rules of 2004. However, 35 housing projects got approval before the rules of 2004 were framed.

In case developers initiate extension or alteration of the layout plans of any of these projects, they have to obtain approval under the rules of 2004.

According to records at Rajuk, Pallabi Abashik (30.44 acres) and Arambagh Cooperative Housing (7.59 acres) projects of Eastern Housing Ltd got approval in 1984. Kalyanpur Land Project (4.79 acres) of the same developer got approval in 1986. Cap Hasan (Niketan) Housing Project (68.53 acres) of Eastern Housing got approval in 1987.

Adarsha Chhayanir Greeha Nirman Samabay Samity project (4.5 acres) got approval in 1986. Baitul Aman Cooperative Housing Project (12 acres) got approval in 1986, Mohammadpur Pisciculture Housing Project (38.01 acres) in 1987, Firoza Properties and Development residential project (9.10 acres in Mohammadpur) in 1987 and Metropolitan Christian Co-operative Housing Project in Tejgaon got approval in 1987.

Janata Housing Project (4.40 acres in Kafrul and Mirpur) got approval 1987. Postagola (2.22 acres), Rayerbazar (10.03 acres), KM Das Lane (4.02 acres), Bashabo (3.03 acres) and Shishmahal (11.31 acres) projects of Eastern Housing got approval in 1987. Cap Hasan Housing Project in Paikpara (6.13 acres) got approval in the same year.

Postagola Riverview Land Project (29 bighas) of Eastern Housing got approval in 1989, Mallika residential project (4.53 acres in Mirpur) of Sheltech Private Limited in 1990, Blue Star Estate (0.33 decimals in Kakrail) of Blue Star Real Estate Limited got permission in 1990, Probal Housing (8.49 acres in Mohammadpur) in 1990 and Janata Co-operative Housing (14 acres in Mohammadpur) in 1990.

Mukti Real Estate in Mirpur got approval in 1990, Sukhinir residential project (3.99 acres) in 1992, Susomoy Bahumukhi project in Uttarkhan and Gobindapur in 1994 and Jahangirnagar University Cooperatives' Aurunapalli project (82.34 acres in Savar) got approval in 1998.

Basundhara (Baridhara extension) housing project of East West Property Development Limited got approval for 305 acres. But the developer later placed a proposal of 1247.30-acre extended project, which has not yet got approval.

Dhaka Real Estate project in Katasur, Shyamoli Housing project (18.25 bighas) in Uttara and a number of other projects got approval but were implemented deviating approved layout plans. There are several other projects that got approval but later the government filed cases against the developers for rules violations and the projects were stalled.

A number of powerful developers that have no government approval, have recently embarked on massive advertisement of their projects on television, newspapers and in public places alluring people into investing huge amount of money in illegal housing.

Commercial advertisement of such unauthorised housing projects in any manner is a punishable offence, as per the Building Construction Act of 1952 and rules of 2004.

A housing developer, among other preconditions, has to obtain plan approval for any construction complying with wetland and environment conservation acts, Building Construction Act of 1952, Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) and Building Construction Rules of 2006.

A crucial precondition for implementing a housing project is that the layout plan of a proposed project must have a GPS-based (Global Positioning System) topographical survey map clearly marking cultivable and non-cultivable lands, wetlands, flood retention ponds and basins, canal, river, creek and forestation.