The dream of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, regarding villages will soon be realized through his worthy daughter, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In the recent past, she declared—"We want to deliver all urban amenities to every village." In other words, every village will be developed as a modern 'rural town.' Amid changing realities, Sheikh Hasina has not deviated from that commitment; rather, she is adding new dimensions to it through timely planning.

However, in the altered global context, along with the country's progress, several new challenges are emerging. Industrialization and rapid urbanization require vast amounts of land. Consequently, the construction of towns, cities, factories, and roads is disrupting ecological balance while alarmingly reducing arable land. Various economic and social problems are deeply interconnected, and at the core of these issues lies the sustainable preservation of cultivable land.

Bangabandhu’s Far-Sighted Vision and the 'Condominium' Model

Immediately after independence, the visionary Bangabandhu foresaw this upcoming crisis. Therefore, he advised building 'rural towns' while protecting agricultural land. To this end, a delegation was sent to Europe to gain experience on how European nations planned housing while safeguarding agriculture and the environment. The core essence of the recommendations received after the trip was: instead of building huge horizontal houses for individual families in every village, high-rise, modern, and planned 'condominium-type' buildings—similar to those in cities—should be constructed.

Under this model, different families in a village would live across generations in the same joint, integrated infrastructure, and the buildings could be expanded vertically as needed. A few planned high-rise buildings could house the population of an entire village. As a result, vast expanses of agricultural land could be preserved on one hand, while basic local government services—such as electricity, safe drinking water, modern sanitation, internet, and recreation—could be easily delivered to the people on the other. According to official data, Bangladesh currently has about 8.829 million hectares (approx. 21.8 million acres) of cultivable land, accounting for roughly 59.7% of the total land area. However, research data indicates that the country's population increases by about 2.2 million each year.

Alarming Rate of Agricultural Land Loss

• River Erosion: Approximately 8,700 hectares of land are lost to riverbeds every year. • Infrastructure and Housing: Around 3,000 hectares of land are lost annually due to housing and development infrastructure construction. Over the past 37 years, nearly 65,000 acres of land have been used for homestead construction alone. • Impact of Brick Kilns: According to the Department of Environment, out of roughly 7,881 existing brick kilns in the country, 4,633 are illegal, posing a severe threat to agriculture and the environment. Soil experts estimate that about 50,000 acres of land are occupied by these kilns.

Every year, nearly 150 million metric tons of fertile topsoil are burned to make bricks in these kilns. As a direct consequence, crop production across roughly 13,500 hectares of land is adversely affected. In total, around 16,500 hectares of land are permanently lost each year to housing and brick kilns, and another 8,700 hectares to river erosion—totaling about 25,200 hectares of lost arable land annually. This aligns with the trend of a nearly 1% annual decline in agricultural land.

Permanent Solutions: Special Economic Zones and Modern Technology

To tackle this crisis, Sheikh Hasina’s government has adopted multifaceted, sustainable measures:

1. Special Economic Zones: To protect arable land, the government, with support from the World Bank and JICA, has made significant progress in establishing around 97 Special Economic Zones on non-productive land or riverine islands (chars) across the country—comprising 68 public and 29 private zones.

2. Eco-Friendly Non-Fired Bricks: Through joint research by the House Building & Research Institute (HBRI) and JICA, technology for producing eco-friendly concrete blocks using sand and silt without burning soil is being expanded. Plans are underway to establish factories in riverine and coastal areas, serving as an effective alternative to traditional clay bricks.

3. River Dredging and Erosion Control: Sand and silt—essential components for making unburnt bricks or construction materials—can be dredged from riverbeds under government supervision. This will restore river navigability and reduce erosion on one side, while transforming sand and silt into valuable assets rather than environmental liabilities on the other.

Future Prospects

Through long-term planning, initiatives have been taken to implement short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to mitigate climate and land-related risks over the next 100 years. If these plans and measures are successfully implemented, Bangabandhu’s dream of 'rural towns' can be realized while ensuring greater protection for national food security, agriculture, and the environment. Integrating the twin goals of extending modern amenities to villages and preserving agricultural land and the environment can serve as one of the key foundations for Bangladesh's sustainable development.

Author: Niharika Roy, Development Worker, Political Analyst, and Columnist