Twenty monitoring teams will take strict action to make Dhaka a clean and liveable city, following instructions from the Prime Minister, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shah Alam has said. He warned that government housing allotments could be cancelled if unhygienic conditions or Aedes mosquito larvae are found on the premises, while violators could face hefty fines.

He made the remarks as the chief guest at a meeting on implementing and monitoring cleanliness activities in Dhaka, held at the Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office in Tejgaon at 3:00 pm on Monday (October 26).

State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahmed Sohel Manzur attended the meeting as a special guest.

Mir Shah Alam said the Prime Minister had been committed to making Dhaka liveable from the very beginning. He had personally inspected the conditions of several government hospitals and residential quarters. However, inspections at large government housing complexes, luxury apartments and hospitals had revealed Aedes mosquito larvae and serious negligence in maintaining cleanliness, he added.

Addressing members of the monitoring committees, the state minister said they were working in the field as representatives of the Prime Minister. He instructed them to take legal action and impose strict fines wherever irregularities or mosquito larvae were found.

He also questioned the eligibility of government employees to live in government housing if they failed to maintain cleanliness in their own residential quarters.

Regarding urban beautification and infrastructure development, Mir Shah Alam said the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and Dhaka South City Corporation were working to clean Hatirjheel and the lakes in Dhanmondi, Banani and Gulshan to restore their former beauty.

He added that work was underway to re-excavate 29 canals under Dhaka North City Corporation and 26 canals under Dhaka South City Corporation, alongside the construction of guide walls and the installation of netting.

The state minister also said the government had decided to introduce new dustbins made of fibreboard in response to the theft of plastic and iron bins. The two city corporations would install the new bins in phases.

Expressing optimism, he said coordinated efforts by the 20 teams could bring visible changes to Dhaka within the next one to two months.

Under the Prime Minister’s directives, 20 special monitoring committees have been formed across 20 zones under Dhaka North and South city corporations. Ten committees will operate under each corporation, led by director-level officials from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister’s Office Principal Secretary A B M Abdus Sattar and attended by members of all 20 monitoring committees.