No mayoral election was held at Palashbari in Gaibandha after it was declared as municipality in 2011 as a writ petition was filed with High Court.
According to sources, government declared Palashbari as municipality by including total 43 moujas. Of them 19 moujas were at Sadar upazila.
After declaration, Tk39 lakh had been sanctioned for 2011-2012 fiscal year for the development of the municipality. But no development work has been done due to file a writ petition with the court by a Shafiqul.
The money was returned after the petition.
In 2007, Shafiqul Islam of Udoysagor village in Sadar upazila filed the petition demanding cancellation the function of the municipality.
Locals said Morsheda Begum, councilor of reserved seat and wife of Shafiqul manged him to file the petition with the help of some union council chairmen who do not want the municipality.
The court dismissed the case several times after hearing. But he appealed to the Supreme court again and again to halt the election.
He said:“We do not want the municipality. There is no infrastructure in the upazila that can be turned into municipality.”
“If it is operated as municipality, the development work will be hampered due to lengthy process of bureaucracy,” he said. But locals alleged that Shafiqul filed the petition to implement the agenda of the chairmen of Palashabri, Kishoregari and Barisal union councils.
The up chairmen think they may lose power if the upazila is turns into municipality.
Social worker Nuruzzaman of Gridhara village in Sadar upazila said there were hundreds of business institutions and banks beside the Dhaka-Rangpur Highway.
The institutions cannot work properly due to manifold reasons. The main reason is the absence of the budget sanctioned by the government for the municipality.
If the work of the municipality is going on properly, the activities of the institutions will go on in full swing, he claims.
Shamikul Islam, lecturer of Palashbari Women College, said they were deprived of civic rights as there had been no election for a long time. Moksed Chowdhury, former chairman of Sadar upazila parishad, said some UP chairmen of the upazila wanted to establish their power for a long time. Already 13 years had passed, there was no election in those union councils. They had a great role behind the petition.
Trader Aminul Islam said: “The chairmen of three union councils who fiance Shafiqul to file the petition, have grabbed the power for 13 years illegally.” He urged the government to take action against those chairmen.
Golam Sarwar, general secretary of Motor Workers’ Union, said anomalies had been continuing due to absence of proper administrative work.
Abdul Mannan, chairman of Barisal union council, said: “I have no role behind the petition.”
Habibur Rahman, chairman of Palashabri Sadar, Aminur Rahamn, chairman of Kishoregari echoed the speech of Mannan.
Mokhlesur Rahman, deputy director at the administrative office of deputy commissioner office, local govt unit, said they had nothing to do to implement the work of the municipality as it was at the hand of higher authorities.