Empowerment of upazila parishads requires own earnings

Local government institutions like upazila parishads will not be empowered unless they have their own means of earning revenue, said local government officials at a discussion yesterday.

Bureaucracy will hold more power than elected representatives as long as the parishads are solely dependent on government funds, they added.

The discussion on utilisation of budgetary allocation in the parishads was organised by Upazila Governance Project (UZGP) of the Local Government Division at its office in the capital.    

UZGP Divisional Facilitator Sohel Iqbal said upazila parishads already receive a portion of land transfer fees.

These parishads can receive portion of other government fees to be more independent, he suggested.

Iqbal said at present, these parishads are allocated a certain portion of the budget and carry out development activities accordingly.

“The approach should be that upazila parishads first come up with developmental plans and then ask for the required budget allocation,” he said.

Similarly, Shahidul Islam, director of Local Government, Dhaka Division said there are no alternatives to "bottom up" planning in order to achieve proper utilisation and mobilisation of sources.

Presiding over the event, Anisur Rahman, additional divisional commissioner of Local Government Division, said public services provided by different government sectors would be better if officials of the departments are accountable to the elected members of the parishads.