This unplanned urbanisation is making Dhaka city vulnerable to hazards like waterlogging, traffic jam and environment degradation, they said at the discussion on "Planned Urbanisation and Housing Industry" organised jointly by the Shaptahik 2000 and Shah Cement at the Jatiya Press Club.

Noted economist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad questioned the source of income of the buyers of expensive apartments, citing an example that the Rehab (Real Estate Housing Association of Bangladesh) officials and apartment owners did not once agree to provide his students with information for a survey on the status of the apartment buyers.

He also questioned the role of the media running a huge number of apartment advertisements, which he termed a means to stop the media from speaking against the unethical practices of housing business.

The financial statements of the developers should be made public and available for inspection, Prof Muzaffer, president of the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon, demanded at the discussion.

The real estate developers, however, blamed the bureaucratic tangle and corruption in the government agencies concerned for the price hike in the urban housing.

The developers and people concerned have been urging the government for establishing a one-stop service for obtaining clearance from different departments for a long time, but there has been no initiative in this regard so far, they alleged.

"It takes at least a year to secure a plan of a six-storey building and the cost for that--both official and unofficial--is too high, which ultimately increases the price of the apartment," Nasrul Hamid Bipu, managing director of Hamid Real Estate, said at the discussion.

The developers emphasised the formation of a regulatory authority to monitor every stage of the construction work to ensure the standard of the raw materials and fitness of the housing system in the city.