Thursday, November 7, 2024

Govt plans to keep local govt men in party posts

Wants to modify ordinances to remove restrictions; LGC opposes bid to make such changes, asks govt not to give block allocation to MPs for fear of graft
Shakhawat Liton and Hasan Jahid Tusher
The Awami League-led (AL) government is likely to bring major amendments to local government ordinances, allowing elected representatives to continue holding posts in political parties.
Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday at a meeting with the chairman and members of the Local Government Commission (LGC) hinted that the ordinances will be amended, as his party believes those were promulgated by the immediate past military backed caretaker government to depoliticise the society, meeting sources said.
The LGC however suggested that the LGRD minister refrains from amending the upazila parishad ordinance, which would allow members of the parliament to be involved in the functioning of the parishads, since the system itself has yet to begin functioning, the sources added.
It also suggested that the minister refrains from making annual block allocations of Tk 2 crore to each lawmaker for carrying out development activities in their constituencies, arguing the proposed system will end up encouraging corruption, the sources said.
In favour of its suggestions, the LGC, which is responsible for strengthening the local government system, argued that a similar system of block allocations to lawmakers did not work in India, rather it caused widespread corruption, prompting demands for scrapping it.
The immediate past caretaker government promulgated the local government ordinances making it mandatory for elected local government officials to resign from posts of political parties before taking the oaths of office, in a bid to keep the system of local government out of partisan politics and all corollary problems, according to its claim.
The provision was incorporated in the ordinances regarding city corporations, upazila parishads, and municipalities.
Back then also the AL leadership opposed the provision calling it unconstitutional and saying the provision had been incorporated as part of the military backed unelected government’s design of depoliticising the entire society.
All ordinances promulgated by the unelected government must be ratified in the new parliament within 30 days of its first sitting. If the parliament does not ratify those, the ordinances will automatically become null and void after the 30th day.
Under the new local government ordinances, elections to four city corporations of Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and Barisal, and to nine municipalities were held in August 2008, in which AL backed candidates got landslide victory.
Complying with the new ordinances the AL leaders elected to offices of the local governments, resigned from their party posts before their induction in offices, with a nod from their party leadership.
Although the elected local government representative of AL initiated steps to challenge the provision in the High Court back then, the party top brass refrained them from doing so with assurances that the party would take appropriate measures in time, the AL sources said.
According to the sources, although the AL leaders elected to the local governments resigned from their party posts in August last year, the party has yet to accept their resignations.
Contacted by The Daily Star yesterday over the phone, Sylher City Mayor Badar Uddin Ahmed Kamran, who resigned from a post in the Sylhet city unit of AL before taking his oath of office, said the party has yet to inform him about its decision regarding his resignation.
“We did resign, but we don’t know whether our resignations have been accepted,” Kamran said.
The upazila parishad ordinance also took away parliament members’ control over the parishads.
Now, the AL-led government wants to give some of that power back to the lawmakers in connection with development projects in upazilas, by amending the upazila parishad ordinance.
The last AL government in 1998 revived the system of upazila parishads with a provision allowing lawmakers to become advisers of the parishads in their constituencies, and the parishads were made to take suggestions of the lawmakers for carrying out local development activities.
The LGC at yesterday’s meeting with the LGRD minister argued that the new ordinance should be left untouched at least for a year. If any problem arises it can be amended then, the commission suggested.
The commission also argued that the lawmakers can still be involved in upazila parishads’ development activities by engaging themselves centrally in preparing a five-year national development plan, the meeting sources said.
Emerging from the meeting held in the office of the LGRD minister, Muhammad Faizur Razzak, chairman of the LGC, said the ordinances were promulgated to strengthen the system of local government.
Asked whether the local government system particularly the system of upazila parishads will be weakened if lawmakers are empowered to get involved in their functioning, the LGC chairman said, “We won’t want the local government institutions to become weak.”
“Decisions will be taken based on the reality,” he added.
After the meeting, LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said the lawmakers and upazila chairmen both should be able to contribute in local development works as both are elected representatives.

Courtesy: thedailystar.net

Related News

Sajek, Khagrachari now open to visitors after being closed for over a month

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The tourism restriction imposed in Sajek valley of Rangamati and Khagrachhari for over a month was lifted today allowing visitors after 45 days. Rangamati Deputy Commissioner Mosharraf Hossain Khan announced the lifting of travel bans at the popular Sajek Union in Baghaichhari Upazila. Similarly, the Khagrachari Deputy Commissioner has also lifted ... Read more

Tourist access to suspend in St Martins in February

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government has decided that tourist access to Saint Martin’s Island will be suspended in February to protect the island’s fragile ecology and ensure environmental preservation. Tourists will be allowed to visit the island from November to January, with overnight stays prohibited in November. In December and January, tourists can stay ... Read more

Public univs to accommodate 37pc GPA 5 achievers

Shahin Akhter Around 63 per cent of examinees securing a Grade Point Average of 5 in this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent examinations will not be able to get admitted to the public universities across the country due to lack of seats. Though the private universities in the country have sufficient seats to accommodate ... Read more

297 killed by lightning in eight months

News Desk : dhakamirror.com At least 297 people have been killed and 73 injured in incidents of lightning strikes across the country between February and September this year, according to Save the Society and Thunderstorm Awareness Forum (SSTAF). In the eight months, lightning strikes killed 152 people while they were doing agricultural works, SSTAF said ... Read more

Flood death toll climbs to 59, over 5.4 million affected

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Fifty-nine people, including 41 men, six women and 12 children, died in the devastating flood as deaths of five more people were reported on Saturday. So far, 14 deaths have been reported in Cumilla, six in Chattogram, 23 in Feni, nine in Noakhali, three in Cox’s Bazar, and one each in ... Read more

Flood death toll reaches 13, 4.5m affected in 11 districts

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Around 13 people have been killed and 4.5 million affected by floods in 11 districts of Bangladesh, the disaster management and relief ministry said Friday, reports AFP. Thousands of people awaiting emergency rescue remained beyond electricity and mobile network coverage as a flash flood unleashed by heavy rains and an onrush ... Read more

Bangladesh ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia freed

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia has been officially released. Former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was released on Tuesday, a day after Sheikh Hasina’s resignation as PM and fleeing the country amid an unprecedented student-led mass uprising against her authoritarian regime. The decision was revealed ... Read more

Eid-ul-Azha on June 17

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The holy Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated in Bangladesh on June 17 (Monday) as the crescent moon of the Zilhaj month was sighted in Bangladesh’s sky on Friday evening (7 June). The National Moon Sighting Committee came up with the decision after reviewing information about the sighting of the moon at a ... Read more

Cyclone Remal: 40 dead animals found, 17 rescued hurt in Sundarbans

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The forest department officials on Tuesday said that so far they found 39 dead deer and a pig in the Sundarbans after the severe cyclone Remal that hit the forest on Sunday. Primarily they have estimated infrastructural damage of Tk 6.27 crore in the forest while the total damage, including animals ... Read more

Cyclone Remal claims at least 14 lives, affects nearly 37.58 lakh people in 19 districts

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Following its devastating impact into Bangladesh on Sunday night, Cyclone Remal has affected over 37.58 lakh people in 19 districts and taken at least 14 lives. While the cyclone has weakened into a deep depression, hundreds of villages in the southern parts of the country remain submerged. The Bangladesh Meteorological Department ... Read more

Alert issued as Cyclone Remal develops

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A weather alert has been issued by the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) as a low-pressure system in the southwest and west central Bay of Bengal gains strength, potentially developing into Cyclone Remal by Saturday. The system, currently moving northeastward, is expected to transform into a depression by early Friday. By Saturday, ... Read more

Cyclone ‘Remal’ likely to hit Bangladesh coasts on 26 May: Meteorologist

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cyclone Remal is likely to make landfall between 6:00am and 12:00pm on 26 May in Bangladesh, affecting coastal areas from the Barguna in Barishal Division to Cox’s Bazar in the Chattogram Division, a meteorologist said today (21 May). The front of the cyclone may begin to enter coastal areas after 6:00am, ... Read more

5 consecutive days holiday for Eid-ul-Adha

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Government employees are scheduled to get five consecutive days off on Eid-ul-Azha. This includes two days of weekly holidays (Friday and Saturday) followed by another three days for Eid, according to government holiday list. Eid-ul-Azha is likely to be celebrated on June 17 this year.

Heavy rains, storms forecast for entire week

Schools open today after heatwave closures News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) forecasts heavy rainfall with thunderstorms across the country this week, starting on Tuesday and lasting through Saturday. As per the analysis of mathematical model of rainfall index, Bangladesh is likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall with thunderstorms starting ... Read more

Waiting for the rain

Tawsia Tajmim As the sun blazes relentlessly, desperate craving rises for rain, for nothing soothes Mother Nature quite like its cool embrace. After a brutal month-long heatwave, residents of Chattogram, Sylhet, and Dhaka finally caught a break with some rain on 2 May. However, the downpour was not strong enough to completely wash away the ... Read more

Hajj registration extended till Jan 18

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government, in a notice issued yesterday, extended the Hajj registration deadline for 2024 until January 18. It said aspiring Hajis would have to primarily deposit Tk 2.05 lakh, while the rest should be paid by February 29 for final registration. One has to pay Tk 5,78,840 under the general package, ... Read more

Dense fog disrupts communications across Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Cold and dense fog continued to disrupt life with road, air and waterways communication remaining suspended in the early hours of Tuesday as Bangladesh braces for this winter’s first cold wave likely to set in today. Authorities also confirmed until Tuesday the death of 14 people in cold-related diseases and road ... Read more

27,000 GPA 5 achievers not to get seat in public universities

Shahin Akhter Over 27,000 GPA 5 achievers in this year’s HSC and equivalent examinations cannot be admitted to the public universities due to fewer seats. A total of 92,595 examinees secured GPA 5 out of total 10,67,852 passed in the Higher Secondary Certificate examinations this year. But there are around 65,400 seats at the public ... Read more

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake jolts Dhaka, other parts of Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Bangladesh this morning, the United States Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake jolted different parts of the country including Dhaka around in Ramganj of Cumilla at 9:35am, reports The Daily Star quoting Meteorologist Rubayet Kabir of Bangladesh Meteorological Department. The quake ... Read more

250cc Bajaj Pulsar N250 launched in Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Uttara Motors, the manufacturer and distributor of Bajaj motorcycles in Bangladesh, has recently launched The Pulsar N250 motorcycle. Pulsar N250 comes with a price tag of Tk339,999 and is available in three different colours. The motorcycle with a 250 cc oil-cooled engine has got dual channel antilock braking system (ABS). Indian ... Read more