Rajuk Chairman KAM Haroon said they will soon publicise detailed and specific information on the approved private housing projects.

"We will display the designs of approved projects specifying the exact area and blocks so that people do not fall prey to flashy advertisements of unauthorised projects," he said.

Rajuk Board dealt with a large number of private housing projects and approved them before enactment of laws and rules 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.

Most of these projects are now completed and unknown to the public.

Once the list of approved projects is displayed at Rajuk, real estate buyers will have an opportunity to check authenticity of a project before buying a plot or flat. They will be able to identify the unauthorised projects.

Rajuk's town planning section has already been asked to take measures for publicity and lamination of designs and layout of the approved projects to put them on display.

"We will hang laminated designs at Rajuk specifying exact area and status of approval so that developer cannot alter it anyway or resort to deception in any manner," Haroon said.

Deputy Town Planer of Rajuk Abu Hasan Mortuza said at a seminar on February 17 that 35 housing projects got approval long before the rules of 2004 were framed.

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

According to Rajuk, it has received only 21 applications from ongoing private housing project developers for approval under the rules of 2004. Now, approval depends on compliance with the said laws and related rules.

Rauk has filed cases against eight project developers under Wetland Conservation Act of 2000, Land Development Rules of 2004 and for running advertisements illegally. Six projects could not yet obtain final approval, as the developers could not meet preconditions set by government, while seven projects are under consideration.

The rules of 2004 provide that any extension or continuation of a completed project, let alone the new ones, has to obtain approval.

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.