Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) on Friday claimed that the Milestone School and College campus is effectively located at an unsafe zone.
The BIP at a press conference also claimed that although the campus is located legally at Diabari of the capital’s Uttara, it is effectively located in an unsafe zone as the institution falls in the approach area (takeoff and landing areas) of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
The BIP also suggested that the institutions including schools, colleges and madrasahs that attract gatherings and are also located in the airport approach area should be relocated.
BIP highlighted these issues in an immediate investigation report titled “Plane crash at Milestone School: State’s responsibility and actions needed for public safety and development control”.
BIP joint secretary urban planner Tamjidul Islam presented the report at a press conference at Planners Tower in the capital’s Banglamotor.
According to the report, no structures can be built within 500 feet of an airport runway, and the following 13,000 feet—or about 4 kilometers—is known as the approach area, which is used for aircraft takeoff and landing.
The report said that the government’s urban planning and aviation authorities do not restrict the construction of buildings up to 150 feet in height in the approach area, and there are no clear guidelines on how these structures should be used either. Although such buildings may be technically legal, they are practically unsafe, it added.
While presenting the report, Tamjidul Islam said that the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) mentions height restrictions for structures in the approach area, but does not specify land use. Land in such areas should not be used for facilities that attract large gatherings. Agricultural use and greenery may be suitable, but nothing should be done that attracts birds.
Explaining international best practices for airport planning, Tamjidul Islam said that airports are ideally located far from city centres.
Referring to the presence of several residential areas within this airport’s approach zone, he noted that access to Milestone School was relatively easy due to the metro rail and elevated expressway. Otherwise, delays in getting victims to the hospital could have led to even more deaths.
A Bangladesh Air Force training fighter jet crashed into Milestone School and College campus on 21 July, killing at least 33 people. More than 150 others were injured, many of whom are still in critical condition.
At the press conference, BIP President and urban planner Adil Muhammad Khan said that schools, colleges, mosques, and madrasahs—places where people gather—must be relocated from the airport approach area. Otherwise, future accidents could lead to even more deaths.
Investigation must be conducted to all types of violations in the takeoff and landing areas of the airport, as well as if structures exceed height limits, the additional portions must be demolished.
Adil Muhammad Khan further stated that there is no option to fly training aircraft over densely populated areas.
He said that the airport was located far from Dhaka, but the city has since expanded.
Development control is a principle that has been forgotten, he said, adding that essential planning rules were overlooked, which is why infrastructure like schools and colleges now exist so close to the airport.
He pointed out that the very concept of development control seems to have been forgotten. Otherwise, infrastructure like schools and colleges would never have been built next to an airport’s takeoff and landing zone. The fundamental grammar of planning has been ignored.
When the Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP) was drafted in 1995, the area where Milestone School is located was designated as a wetland. This made it ideal as a safety buffer for the airport.
However, Adil Muhammad Khan noted that RAJUK allowed the low-lying area to be filled for the school’s construction.
Raising the question of why RAJUK did not intervene to stop the land-filling, this planner said that neither RAJUK nor the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) fulfilled their responsibilities. Those who erected the building did not keep their commitments either.
Adil Muhammad Khan added land and building-related corruption has been rampant for decades. In most cases, approvals were obtained by exerting pressure from higher levels of government. Some buildings at Milestone School are approved, while others are not. Perhaps, the building that was hit by the plane does not have approval.
BIP general secretary and urban planner Shaikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan said the government should form a high-level committee to assess how many public gathering facilities exist within the airport approach area.
He added that those who built Milestone School bears responsibility. Besides, multiple agencies including the Civil Aviation Authority, Ministry of Education, district administration, city corporations and RAJUK were supposed to issue approvals and no-objection certificates. Everyone involved in granting these approvals must have the responsibility. Identifying and punishing those responsible may help prevent similar incidents in the future.
BIP vice president and urban planner Syed Shahriar Amin also spoke at the event.
