Despite repeated pledges from politicians for strengthening the local government, the upazila parishad, one of the vital units of local administration, remains near dysfunctional because of undue interference from lawmakers and members of the civil administration.
In its election manifesto in 2008, the Awami League pledged to strengthen upazila parishads through decentralisation of power but failed to reach the expected level, although the upazila parishad was reintroduced in 2009 after a gap of 18 years.
Upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen alleged that interference from the MPs – who are advisers to the upazila parishads according to the law – impeded the activities of the councils.
“We cannot work properly because of interference from the lawmakers,” Md Mahiuddin Mallick, upazila chairman of Digholia under Khulna, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Seeking anonymity, an upazila nirbahi officer from Kishoreganj said a circular issued about the distribution of test relief said the relief could not be distributed without the recommendation of an MP.
Giving an example of the lawmakers’ interference, a local government specialist mentioned an education ministry circular that said the UNOs would need to consult with the MP concerned for the recruitment of peons and security guards at primary schools.
“The MP’s role has to be reviewed to make the council effective to the expected level,” UNDP’s Local Governance Adviser Tofail Ahmed said.
Harun-ur-Rashid Hawlader, president of Bangladesh Upazila Parishad Association, also gave the example of an agriculture ministry circular which failed to mention the responsibility of the upazila parishad for local development, although the department of agriculture had been handed over to the upazila council. “As the UNO is the president of agriculture rehabilitation committee, we have no role,” he said.
He added that constitutionally the local government in every administrative unit of the republic would be entrusted to bodies composed of elected persons in accordance with law. However, union parishad chairmen were now also members of the upazila council, which contradicted the law.
In its 2014 election manifesto, the Awami League once again pledged that more authority and responsibility would be delegated to the upazila parishad through democratic reorganisation of the present centralised administrative structure.
Moreover, addressing the parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated on strengthening the local government.
The EC has already declared schedules for fresh upazila polls, with the first phase of elections to be held at 98 upazilas on February 19.
Earlier on January 19, Upazila Parishad Association submitted a set of recommendations to the LGRD ministry, demanding an amendment to sections 25 and 42 of the Upazila Parishad Act for ending lawmakers’ interference and for salaries and allowances of all employees to be given through the chairmen and the UNOs.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday, former local government secretary Golam Robbany declined to comment on the issue, but said it was a government policy to make the local bodies effective.