Govt for reforming local bodies

Finance Minister AMA Muhith has laid emphasis in the proposed budget on reforming the local government institutions and creating a specialised bureaucracy to run those.
It will be part of the government plan to strengthen the local government institutions with more authority and run them efficiently while remaining equally accountable to the people, he added.
He said the government wants to shift the seat of power to the local levels as far as possible to do away with a heavily centralised administration.
Zila Parishad, Upazila Parishad and Union Parishad will be vested with more power and authority under this programme.
He said the government plans to leave issues like education, health, law enforcement, social safety in the hands of local bodies for the welfare of the people.
It will therefore take up a similar administrative reform to strengthen the local government institutions. But it needs careful move because the centralised administration is so deeply rooted in the country that it is quite hard to dismantle it, the finance minister noted.
Moreover, local bodies will also require an efficient bureaucracy to make proper policies so that the people can enjoy the fruits of decentralisation.
So a careful scrutiny has to be made to decide on what subjects of the central government can be transferred to the local authority and in what manner, he added.
He said a clear division of work among Zila, Upazila and Union Parishads will also be needed for the purpose.
Meanwhile, a specialised bureaucracy for the local government has to be created with a provision for imparting appropriate training and a fair system of revenue sharing between the central and local government institutions has to be established, he said.