STATE OF CITIES: Urban Governance in Dhaka Institute of Governance Studies BRAC University STATE OF CITIES: Urban Governance in Dhaka STATE OF CITIES: Urban Governance in Dhaka Institute of Governance Studies, BRAC University Dhaka, Bangladesh May 2012 ISBN: 978-984-33-5288-0 Price BDT 500.00 USD 10.00 STATE OF CITIES: Urban Governance in Dhaka Institute of Governance Studies BRAC University Report Team and Contributors State of Cities: Urban Governance in Dhaka Report is managed by Rizwan Khair, Director, Institute of Governance Studies at BRAC University. The Report has been produced by the IGS Research Team led by Ipshita Basu. The researchers who contributed to the making of the individual chapters in this report are as follows: Chapter 1 Urban Governance in Dhaka: Ipshita Basu and An Overview Kazi Nurmohammed Hossainul Haque Chapter 2 A History of Governance in Dhaka City Rigan Chakma, Rubayet Hamid and Thomas Oldham Chapter 3 Political Economy of Dhaka City Ipshita Basu Chapter 4 Politics in Urban Governance: City Mohammad Sirajul Islam and without Citizens? Md. Harun-Or-Rashid Chapter 5 Governing Transport in DhakaCity: Mahboob Elahi Akhter Stakeholders and Institutional and Elvira Graner Arrangements Chapter 6 Governance of Urban Services in Syeda Salina Aziz, Jannatul Fardosh Dhaka City and Mariha Khalid Chapter 7 Conclusion and Next Steps Ipshita Basu Research Advisers: Dr. Geoffrey Wood, Dr. Joseph Devine and Barrister Manzoor Hasan. IGS team would also like to extend their gratitude to the following people for whose input and advice has greatly enhanced the report: Dr. Salahuddin M. Aminuzzaman, Dr. Nurul Amin, Dr. Iftekhar Iqbal, Dr. Jalal Alamgir (late), Dr. Ferdous Jahan, Dr. Simeen Mahmud, Dr. Rob Gallagher, Kishore Kumar Singh and Dr. Gopakumar K. Thampi. Nevertheless, the authors take full responsibility for the views and opinions expressed in the report and any errors and omissions that may have been overlooked. Cover Design, Layout : Amal Das | Production: Color Line, 01715 812345 Table of Contents LIST OF MAPS vii LIST OF BOXES vii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii LIST OF ACRONYMS ix GLOSSARY xi PREFACE xiii Chapter 1. Urban Governance in Dhaka: An Overview 01 1.1 The Purpose 01 1.2 The Context 01 1.3 Perspective and Method 05 1.4 Themes 07 1.5 Findings: What Do We Know About Urban Governance in Dhaka City? 09 1.6 Overview of Chapters 11 Chapter 2. A History of Governance in Dhaka City 13 2.1 Introduction 13 2.2 Mughal Dhaka 15 2.3 Early Decline 18 2.4 The British Commercio-Anarchic Era 19 2.5 The Second British Era 22 2.6 A Site for Political Contestation 1905-1947 25 2.7 The Pakistan Era 27 2.8 The Early Independence Years 29 2.9 Dhaka as We Know It 33 Chapter 3. Political Economy of Dhaka City 35 3.1 Dhaka: The Mega City of the Poor 36 3.2 Dhaka's Economy in the Global and National Context 39 3.3 Distribution of Urban Space and the Politics of Inequality of Access in Dhaka City 43 3.4 Crime and Violence and its Links with Governance in Dhaka City 47 3.5 Conclusion 48 Chapter 4. Politics in Urban Governance: City without Citizens? 49 4.1 Introduction 49 4.2 Organisation of Urban Governance in Dhaka City 49 4.3 Municipal Autonomy in Dhaka's Urban Administration 51 4.3.1 Operational Autonomy of DCC 53 4.3.2 Internal Autonomy of DCC 55 4.3.3 Financial Autonomy of DCC 56 4.4 Citizens' Representation and Democratic Urban Governance 58 4.5 The Criteria that Determine Urban Citizenship 60 4.5.1 Urban Property 60 4.5.2 Urban Aesthetics - an Example of Exclusion 60 4.6 Informal Governance in Dhaka City and Citizenship Practices 61 4.7 Concluding Remarks and Way Forward 63 Chapter 5. Governing Transport in Dhaka city: Stakeholders and Institutional Arrangements 65 5.1 Dhaka as an Economic Space - a Brief Introduction 66 5.2 Mobilising Dhaka's citizens - the Transport Sector 69 5.3 Stakeholders and Policies in the Transport (Sub-)Sectors 71 5.4 Changing Mobility as a Proxy for Social Change 77 5.5 Dhaka's Transport - Changing Utilisation Patterns 79 5.6 Rikshaw “pulling”- a mobile labour force 82 5.7 Safeguarding an Equitable Access to Transport - Some Recommendations 85 Chapter 6. Governance of Urban Services in Dhaka City 87 6.1 Electricity 89 6.1.1 DESCO: A History 90 6.1.2 Electricity: Not Simply a Supply-side Story 92 6.2 Water 95 6.2.1 DWASA: The Organisation and Its Constraints 95 6.2.2 Water and the Rules of Engagement 96 6.3 Waste Management 98 6.3.1 DCC: An Overview 98 6.3.2 A Private-Public Partnership: The Scenes behind SWM 98 6.4 Conclusion: Revisiting the Question of Exit Voice and Loyalty 102 6.5 Improving Service Delivery: Some Policy Recommendations 105 Chapter 7. Conclusion and Next Steps 109 7.1 The Contribution of the State of Cities: Urban Governance in Dhaka Report 109 7.2 Cross-cutting Findings and Governance Implications 111 7.3 Issues for Future Research 113 Bibliography 114 List of Maps, Boxes & Tables LIST OF MAPS Map 1: Changing Pattern of Dhaka City 15 Map 2: Dhaka City Historical Settlement Plan 31 Map 3: Land Use in Dhaka City 32 LIST OF BOXES Box 1: Definitions of Urban Governance 04 Box 2: BGMEA Bhaban: Political Charity and Court Action 55 Box 3: Policy Guidelines for the Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka (2006) 73 Box 4: Case study of Rickshaw Puller (field survey, mid-August 2011) 77 Box 5: Rationale and Points of Convergence: Samajik Suvidha Sangam 106 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The Evolution of Dhaka City Corporation 23 Table 2: Dhaka Municipality: Budget Allocated for Service Provision 1865-1885 (in BDT) 25 Table 3: Comparison of Average Monthly Wages between Dhaka and Rural Areas in 2000 (in Taka) 37 Table 4: Population Growth in Bangladesh's Largest Cities 40 Table 5: Income of Dhaka City Corporation 57 Table 6: Political Affiliation of Ward Commissioners in the 1994 Elections 58 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Population of Dhaka 1700-1965 16 Figure 2: Structure of Local Government in Dhaka 24 Figure 3: Population of Dhaka 1941-1981 29 Figure 4: EPZs in Bangladesh 41 Figure 5: Organisational Set-up and their Relationships in Dhaka City 51 Figure 6: Prominent Labour Markets for Poorer Households 68 Figure 7: Incomes 68 Figure 8: Mapping Stakeholders in the Transport Sector 75 Figure 9: Mapping Stakeholders within the Rickshaw Sub-sector 75 Figure 10: Registration of Motor Vehicles in Dhaka City (based on BBS and BRTA) 79 Figure 11: Changes in Modes of Transport 81 Figure 12: Modes of Transport for Different Income Groups 81 Figure 13: Incomes for Rickshaw Pullers 85 Figure 14: Functional Activities of the Power Sector 91 Figure 15: Commercial Operation of a DESA Office 92 Figure 16: Electricity Providers in Slums and Non-slums 93 Figure 17: Back-up Options Used by Non-slum Households during Power-cuts 94 Figure 18: Water Providers to Slums and Non-slums 97 Figure 19: Waste Collection Facilities in Slums and Non-slums 99 Figure 20: Solid Waste Stream in Dhaka city 101 Figure 21: The Social Framework of Exit, Voice and Loyalty 104 Figure 22: Short Route vs. Long Route to Accountability 105 viii List of Acronyms AL Awami League BDT Bangladeshi Taka BEIC British East India Company BGMEA Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association BIWTA Bangladesh Inter Water Traffic Agency BNP Bangladesh Nationalist Party BPDB Bangladesh Power Development Board BRTA Bangladesh Road and Transport Authority BRTC Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation BTTB Bangladesh Telephone and Telegraph Board CBC Community Based Committee CEO Chief Executive Officer CNG Compressed Natural Gas COBA Cost Benefit Analysis CPD Center for Policy Dialogue CRC Citizen Report Card CUS Centre for Urban Studies DAMERA Dhaka Metropolitan Regional Authority DAP Detailed Area Plan DCC Dhaka City Corporation DESA Dhaka Electric Supply Authority DESCO Dhaka Electric Supply Company DHUTS Dhaka's Urban Transport Network Development Study DIT Dhaka Improvement Trust DMDP Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan DMP Dhaka Metropolitan Police DPDC Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited DSK Dushtha Shasthya Kendra DTCB Dhaka Transport Coordination Board DUTP Dhaka Urban Transport Project DWASA Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority EC Election Commission ECNEC Executive Committee of the National Economic Council EPB Export Promotion Bureau EPWAPDA East Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority EPZ Export Processing Zone ix EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product IDS Institute of Development Studies IGS Institute of Governance Studies IPS Independent Power Supply JICA Japan kWh Kilowatt hour LGD Local Government Division LGRD Local Government and Rural Development MkWh Million Kilowatts Hour MLGRDC Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives MOC Ministry of Commerce MOHA Ministry of Home Affairs MOHFW Ministry of Health & Family Welfare MOPEMR Ministry of Power, Energy & Mineral Resources MOPTC Ministry of Post & Tele Communication MRT Metro-Rail Transit MW Mega Watt NEC National Economic Council NGO Non Government Organisation NOCS Network Operation and Customer Services PPP Public-private partnership RAJUK Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha REB Rural Electrification Board RMG Readymade Garments SEC Socio-Economic Classification Sq.KM Square Kilometer STP Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka SWM Solid Waste Management TUBA Transport User Benefit Appraisal UAP Urban Area Plan UNDP United Nations Development Programme UN-HABITAT United Nations Center for Housing and Settlement USD United States Dollars VGF Vulnerable Group Feeding WASA Water and Sewerage Authority x Glossary Ferrywalas Hawkers Hartal Strike Jatiya Sangsad House of the Nation Katha Land measurement unit Khals Water retention ponds Mastaans Local/ Political musclemen Mohajon Garage owner Neta-karmi Leader-follower Panchayat Village council for resolving disputes Parishad Council Pourashava Municipality Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha Capital development authority Sardar Local leader Sue moto On its own motion Swadeshi Indigenous/Local Thana Police station Tokais Waste pickers Upazila Sub - district Vangari dokans Scrap shops xi Preface By the third decade of this century, it is expected that nearly half the population of Bangladesh will live in urban areas.