Dhaka desk: The government will have to remove at least six structures, including the tomb of the late president Ziaur Rahman, from the parliament complex if it wants to implement world-renowned architect Louis I Kahn’s original plan, sources said. Kahn’s original plan reached the Parliament Secretariat Thursday evening, the sources said adding that the plan contains 853 historic layouts, including that of the proposed Ayubnagar which was preserved in the archives of Pennsylvania University. The other structures of the Kahn’s layout include residences of the speaker and the deputy speaker, Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, the complex where seven political leaders were buried, and the petrol pump opposite Asad gate. Besides, the government has to relocate the under-construction Metro rail route from the eastern side of the Parliament complex, the sources said.
The seven political leaders who were buried on the parliament premises are late president Abdus Sattar, former prime ministers Shah Azizur Rahman and Ataur Rahman Khan, former minister Mashiur Rahman Jadu Miah, Muslim League leader Khan A Sabur, writer and journalist Abul Mansur Ahmed and former speaker of Pakistan National Assembly Tamijuddin Khan. However, senior officials of the Parliament and the Department of Architecture said they would jointly evaluate the original drawings of the Parliament complex and then submit a report to the authorities. “We are yet to open the boxes of Kahn’s drawings. The Speaker has to give her approval. We'll compile the drawings and compare them before making any decision,” said chief architect Kazi Golam Nasir. Talking to The Independent yesterday evening, Nasir said they have also arranged to bring back the original drawings of Kahn. Asked about the removal of unauthorised constructions in the Parliament complex, he refused to make any comment.
“We’ve got the master plan of the Parliament complex. The government would take a decision after scrutinising the drawings,” he added. “It may take 10 to 15 days to arrange the huge volume of drawings.”
The chief architect said they have brought back four sets of drawings—one each of the Parliament Secretariat, the Department of Architecture, the National Archive, and the High Court.
Additional secretary of the Parliament Secretariat, AEM Golam Kibria, said it is up to the government to decide whether and how it would implement the original drawings of Kahn. “The drawings have now become our resources. Now, the government will decide on its next course of action after completing the necessary examinations,” he added.
The authorities decided to collect the master plan from the inheritors of Kahn in March this year. According to the decision, a five-member delegation, led by Golam Kibria, went to the USA on May 29 and signed an agreement with them to bring back the designs to the country.
Parliament sources said that there was a plan to build 27 ministries in the original design prepared by Kahn in 1974. The design included the construction of a mosque, a garden, a wide road with a lake, and the Parliament Bhaban.
The first phase of the design included the construction of the Parliament Bhaban on 208 acres. The design shows a vast green space in the front and the back of the building. The second phase included the construction of an administrative and cultural complex, including the Secretariat, a library, a museum, and a hospital.
But moving away from the original layout, massive changes were made, with a mazar and a graveyard on 74 acres at Chandrima Udyan.
Housing and public works minister Mosharraf Hossain had said earlier that they would remove all illegal structures after receiving the layouts of the Parliament complex.Tthe minister told a vernacular daily that the public works department would begin the renovation work as required. “Not only the mazar of Ziaur Rahman, any structure absent in Kahn’s drawings will be removed within two months,” he added.
At the last meeting of the Sangsad Commission, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had asked for full implementation of the original design. A revamp of the Secretariat and Parliament complex is being planned according to Kahn’s original design.
