Upazila Parishads the way to go
LOCAL government, as we see it today, is the cumulative result of years of change, upheaval, and evolution. This is about local leadership, building strong communities and ensuring the well-being of the people it serves, while striving to help local areas grow and develop. In Bangladesh, the Upazila Parishad has been considered the focal point of local government for the last 26 years. Presently, the government is planning steps to strengthen its efficacy with public representative in power with majority and popular adult franchise.
The stage is, perhaps, set to hold the Upazila Parishad election prior to the election of 9th Parliament. This will be the third Upazila Parishad election, with previous elections held in 1985 and 1988. In the Upazila Parishad election of 1985, about 200 chairmen having allegiance to the then President H M Ershad won the election, which posed a question about the procedure of election at Upazila level. The second election also could not satisfy the political parties with regard to fair representation.
In 1991, when the Upazila Parishad Ordinance was repealed on the basis of the recommendation of a committee headed by Barrister Nazmul Huda, the election system was also one of the concerns for the party in power. Of course, this decision to make the Upazila non-functional with existing setup and manpower was termed by many as "throwing the baby with the bath water."
The Parliamentary Standing Committee, in its meeting held on April 5, 2005, recommended that the Upazila system should continue as focal point of administration to address the issues of rural development and poverty alleviation.
The Local Government (Upazila Parishad and Upazila Administration Reorganisation) Ordinance of 1982 contained the provisions of some transferred subjects and some retained subjects. Transferred subjects to the Upazila Parishad administration were health, family planning, education, rural development, cooperatives, fisheries and livestock etc. In fact, there was a move to empower the Upazila Parishad with devolution of power through an elected body, which Members of Parliament did not like since their influence in their constituencies on these subjects would be reduced significantly.
In 1987, there was an amendment to the Upazila Parishad and Upazila Administration Reorganisation Ordinance [Amendment], 1987 that came into effect from June 4 1987 where the provision of suspension of Upazila Parishad Chairman has been incorporated.
In reality, there were few inherent problems that were experienced as weaknesses of Upazila Parishad administration, such as:
a) The distribution of works, responsibilities and authorities were not clear between chairman and Upazila nirbhahi officer;
b) Most of the chairmen expected to see UNOs as obliging and obedient, but it appeared to be difficult since UNOs were drawing and disbursing officers. They tried to remain impartial in disposal of cases because of their accountability and demand for transparency from local public;
c) The prioritisation of projects, selection of sites and preparation of work plan generated contradictions on the concept of need and political based advantages;
d) Frequent transfer of UNOs on the request of chairmen generated resentment and discouraged the officers;
e) Although UNOs were used to acting as the staff officers to chairmen, they were authorised to grant leave, arrange training, write annual confidential reports etc., and also exercise power under 144 Cr.PC
f) Advocates and lawyers were reluctant to attend the Upazila magistrate courts because their chambers were at district head quarters. This, along with difficulties in the movement of under-trial prisoners, compelled the Upazila magistracy concept to windup.
The lessons learnt in the past should be taken into consideration prior to reactivating the Upazila administration with the election of chairmen and members of Union Parishad, who are members of the Upazila Parishad.
There should not be any iota of confusion in establishing the Upazila Parishad as the focal point of rural development, with decentralisation of powers and functions to address issues like food production, management of health, family planning, service delivery, educational infrastructure, rural electrification, distribution of fertiliser, management of land etc.
According to experts in agriculture, rice production in Bangladesh could be increased by 50 lakhs tons easily, provided fellow land, unused ditches and ponds, coastal areas and hoars are brought under intensive paddy cultivation with high yielding varieties of seeds, drip irrigation and scientific use of bio-fertilisers. The landless and marginal farmers could be effectively mobilised with the distribution of khas land and renovation in the system of share cropping appropriate to the localities. Besides, at least 5 lakhs hectors of land could be brought under double and triple paddy production with adequate management of irrigation facilities and modernisation of cultivation.
Upazila Parishads can intensively supervise the sectors like poultry, fisheries and livestock, social forestry, horticulture, milk production and involve cooperative societies in the marketing of agricultural produces etc. All these initiatives of the Upazila Parishad will eventually promote poverty reduction, employment generation and empowerment of women capable of addressing any disasters, climatic changes and soil erosion.
Everyday, nearly 235 hectares of arable lands are being lost in Bangladesh due to unplanned housing, filling of fisheries and water bodies for construction of buildings, play grounds or parks, shopping complexes, etc. At the same time, around two lakhs babies are being added every day to our population. Rapid urbanisation has emerged as a threat to the city facilities, and is generating health and social problems.
With the strengthening of local government, and Upazila Parishad as the focal point of rural development, a participatory government at the grassroots shall be established to take decisions on development issues independently, and manage public functions properly. This will eventually help to reduce the importance of Parliament to the public at large and allow members of parliament to concentrate on legislative functions, rather than spending time and energy as lobbyists of their constituencies.
The Election Commission might prescribe a code of conduct for candidates in Upazila election. Any person with corruption of any nature, grabbing of khas land or forest property, moral turpitude, tax evasion, loan defaulting, and having no basic education, shall be declared ineligible to be candidate. Affiliation to a political party shall not be considered as disqualification but any person who failed twice to be elected at Union Parishad or Upazila Parishad shall not be eligible to be a candidate for chairmanship of Upazila Parishad.
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