Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s pledge for promoting Mymensingh Municipality into a full-fledged city corporation has not been implemented although it has been a year.
In a public rally at the Mymensingh Circuit House ground in January last year, Hasina made the pledge. However, much to the discontent of local residents from various walks of life, there has been very little visible progress made in this regard.
Sources in the local administration have said there are eight conditions that a municipality must meet before it is promoted to a city corporation.
For becoming a city corporation, a municipality must have a minimum area of 50sq-km. At present, the area of Mymensingh is 21sq-km.
The second most important criterion is that a municipality must have a population of at least four lakh. According to the last census, Mymensingh is a town of two lakh people.
However, sources said the first criteria could be fulfilled by acquiring lands outside the existing boundaries of the city to turn it into a 55sq-km place. They said the bustling town has already expanded beyond those borders.
They also said if the boundaries of the town was expanded, it would easily also fulfill the criteria of having at least four lakh residents because many people have settled in the outskirts of the town just like any other major city.
College student Nasrin Akter said if Mymensingh became a city corporation, the historical MA College would get the status of a university and many new educational institutions would be established.
Businessman Azharul Islam believes that the town’s trade scene will get a much needed boost if it becomes a city. In that case, with better administrative activities, people will be benefited by the presence of better facilities.
Anisur Rahman Khan, president of a local citizen movement, blamed administrative tailbacks for the delay in Mymensingh’s status change.
AHM Lokman, deputy director of the Mymensingh local government division, however snubbed out the allegation of a lack of administrative urgency. He claimed that the work for taking the town to the next level had already progressed quite a bit.
“At present we are awaiting a gazette copy of a no-objection letter from the Local Government Division of the government. That would propel the administrative initiatives,” Lokman said.
He also said the process for turning the town into a city began in May and the primary paperwork detailing all the required information was completed in September last year.
Although he expressed hopes about finishing the work soon but could not give any specific timeframe.
