State and the Low Cost Housing for the Poor: Fall of Bashentek Rehabilitation Project (BRP) in Dhaka City: Bangladesh

Abstract

In the era of neoliberalism now the people especially the lower income group of people is suffering a lot for the scarcity of housing. After migrating from the rural areas for a better life they discovered themselves in the slum like areas of the city as they are not capable to afford housing in the influential areas of the city due to higher rent. Although government take initiatives to remove the housing scarcity of the lower segment of the people but at the end that is after the completion of the housing the flat has been distributed towards the politically powerful and wealthy persons instead to submit those flats to the slum dwellers. This is the case that has been taken place exactly in the case of Bashantek Rehabilitation Project (BRP) a low cost housing program for the poor initiated by the government of Bangladesh. The real situation is that the real slum dwellers were disposed in the name of low cost housing. Now the flat owner is the politically powerful elite and the wealthy personnel. And throughout of this project the slum dwellers has become the victim of dual burden like disposed form the land and lost the money that has been transferred to the project personnel to get the flat at the same time.

Keywords: State; Low Cost Housing; Poor; BRP; Slum Dwellers; Right Claim Citizen; Dispossession.