Following the devastating plane crash at Milestone School and College in Uttara that claimed at least 33 lives, urban planners have called for the urgent relocation of public institutions from the flight approach zones of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
At a press conference held on Wednesday at the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP) headquarters in Dhaka, experts presented findings from a rapid assessment report titled “Milestone School Plane Crash: State’s Responsibility in Public Safety and Development Control.” The report criticizes the school's location within a high-risk zone and points to systemic urban planning failures.
“The Milestone campus is situated directly in the inner approach path of aircraft landing at HSIA,” said BIP President Professor Adil Mohammed Khan. “This area should never have housed high-density institutions like schools, hospitals, or places of worship due to the risks posed by noise, emissions, and potential aviation accidents.”
According to BIP, the crash exposed glaring lapses in coordination between the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) and the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), the capital’s planning authority. Professor Khan argued that CAAB should never issue No Objection Certificates (NOCs) without thorough spatial planning analysis and risk assessments.
The report also highlights serious safety flaws in the Milestone building itself, including obstructed balconies and a single exit point, which hindered evacuation and rescue efforts during the disaster.
BIP General Secretary Sheikh Muhammad Mehedi Ahsan held Rajuk accountable for allowing such development without ensuring CAAB clearance. “No project in these zones should be greenlit without exhaustive technical reviews. Planning regulations exist for a reason, and their disregard has now cost dozens of lives.”
The BIP has demanded an official investigation to determine whether the Milestone School had all necessary approvals and if its expansion violated zoning or safety laws. It has also called for a government-led technical audit of all structures located within HSIA’s approach and funnel zones to identify and remove facilities posing similar risks.
Vice President Shahriar Amin emphasized that the tragedy reflects a broader urban governance crisis. “This is not just about one school. It’s about how we build our cities, for whom, and at what cost,” he said. “Accountability must be enforced across the board.”
In addition to legal action against institutions found violating the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) and Dhaka Metropolitan Development Plan (DMDP), BIP urged the government to publish a white paper documenting widespread planning violations in Dhaka.
The organisation expressed willingness to work with the government to strengthen planning enforcement, improve zoning transparency, and promote urban resilience to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
On July 21, a Bangladesh Air Force FT-7BGI training jet crashed into the Milestone School building during a training sortie, killing mostly children and injuring over 150 others. Many of the injured remain in critical condition.
