Editorial
Conflict of interests between UZ chairmen and MPs continue
Govt should step in promptly to resolve crisis
The frustration of the Upazila Parishad chairmen has again come to the open. Their complaints are against the Members of Parliament (MPs) and bureaucrats, whose interference, they say, has rendered them completely non-functional. So, they have urged the government to empower them financially for the sake of a strong local government.
It may be recalled that in the Upazila Parishad (Amendment) Act 2009, the MPs remain as advisers to the local government body. So, the Upazila parishad chairmen have excuses to be aggrieved, though some development work was still possible despite the limitations.
However, they remained vocal against the MPs' interference in their area of work from the day that they have been elected to their office. At a recently held roundtable, they have again alleged that they are without any work, since they got elected.
The government should take the issue seriously and address it to remove the points of contention between Upazila chairmen and the MPs. The conflict of interests between the two elected institutions of the country is unwarranted, if only in the interest of development at the grassroots level.
On this score, it would be worthwhile to recall here how earlier the Jatiya Sangsad had overturned a parliamentary recommendation to grant MPs an advisory role in the municipalities. The instance may be of help for the government to take a stand on the problem at hand. The recent High Court rule on the government questioning the retention of the MPs' role as adviser to the Upazila Parishads as well as their authority to approve plans of development programme at the local level is another instance that provides a scope for having a rethink on the issue.
Whatever decisions the government elects to take on the matter, it should do at the earliest. For the problem has been vexing the nation for too long.
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