More freedom to make UPs effective sought
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
The Union Parishads (UPs) could have been the centre for all local level developments if it is given more freedom to run its affairs, elected representatives said in the city Tuesday, reports BSS.
They said the UP, the oldest and effective tier of local government, have been passing through an image crisis, mainly due to little or no authority on local resources, negative media publicity and poor information flow among beneficiaries.
"The UPs are always projected in media as the centre of all sorts of corruption and their representatives are seen as social criminals," Chairman of Purnimagati UP of Sirajganj district Gazi Khorshed Alam alleged.
Democracy Watch organised the function at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) to share some of the local level findings.
Mr Alam said the media has always publicised the negative aspects of the UPs, but they have never been able to find good aspects done by the local government body.
The media, he said, should now focus more on projecting the innovative ideas and good practices implemented at the local levels.
Some other representatives attending the function have the identical views of Mr Alam and they said the central government should make the UPs completely free from its control.
Instead, they said, the government should give full autonomy to UPs with more authority to manage local resources, especially hat-bazars, khas-lands and water bodies.
"We are asked to provide better service with little or no resources at hands," alleged Nargis Akhter, one of very few women elected as UP chairman defeating her male competitors.
She sought an equitable distribution of national wealth among the local government bodies, especially for UPs, which serve people at their doorsteps.
The UP is the oldest local government body which has been introduced by the colonial British regime and it has been proved to be the most effective local government body in the country for over 100 years. The country has now a total of 4,498 UPs.
They said the UP, the oldest and effective tier of local government, have been passing through an image crisis, mainly due to little or no authority on local resources, negative media publicity and poor information flow among beneficiaries.
"The UPs are always projected in media as the centre of all sorts of corruption and their representatives are seen as social criminals," Chairman of Purnimagati UP of Sirajganj district Gazi Khorshed Alam alleged.
Democracy Watch organised the function at Dhaka Reporters' Unity (DRU) to share some of the local level findings.
Mr Alam said the media has always publicised the negative aspects of the UPs, but they have never been able to find good aspects done by the local government body.
The media, he said, should now focus more on projecting the innovative ideas and good practices implemented at the local levels.
Some other representatives attending the function have the identical views of Mr Alam and they said the central government should make the UPs completely free from its control.
Instead, they said, the government should give full autonomy to UPs with more authority to manage local resources, especially hat-bazars, khas-lands and water bodies.
"We are asked to provide better service with little or no resources at hands," alleged Nargis Akhter, one of very few women elected as UP chairman defeating her male competitors.
She sought an equitable distribution of national wealth among the local government bodies, especially for UPs, which serve people at their doorsteps.
The UP is the oldest local government body which has been introduced by the colonial British regime and it has been proved to be the most effective local government body in the country for over 100 years. The country has now a total of 4,498 UPs.