The New Nation - Internet Edition

THERE are rules to be observed in designing structures, for land use and proper building processes and these were set out in the Bangladesh National Building Code of 1993. Ironically, the code's worst violators in many cases are found to be the government bodies which should have set the standard really that all others, specially private developers, would then feel obliged to follow. But the inability of the government bodies responsible for regulation of construction is indirectly helping sub-standard construction practices often in public projects. The same also provides encouragement to private sector builders to take legal requirements in construction rather casually.

Failure to adhere to the code by government departments not only leads to the construction of sub-standard structures, the same also costs the public purse much for reconstruction and maintenance. Lack of expertise and devotion needed for proper construction form only one side to the problems faced by builders. The government agencies must increase their own abilities to supervise their work better. The absence of such capacities shows up that more than any other factor, corruption may be the biggest incentive for non observance of building procedures or using inferior construction materials deliberately for pecuniary gains.

It is very regrettable that Bangladesh has hardly an effective mechanism in place to ensure that scarce resources spent on account of its public works are being well spent. The spectacle of wasteful use of resources in the domain of public works in this country is an affront to economic and ethical principles. If this is the situation in the government departments then what can be expected of the regulatory functions they are supposed to do to ensure the observance of the building code by private builders. Thus, the regulatory bodies entrusted with the function of ensuring quality standards of construction activities should do their jobs properly.