Muhith backs rural habitation to cut poverty
Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday advocated building 'rural habitation centres' across Bangladesh, aiming to alleviate poverty and reduce dependency on Dhaka.
"We need to strengthen the local government and make it more dynamic to reduce rural poverty, which is the root of urban poverty," Muhith said.
"People rush to urban areas, particularly Dhaka, as they do not have employment opportunities in the rural areas."
"It is also true that we cannot ensure adequate civic amenities to slum dwellers in the city as much as we can in the rural communities. This is because several ministries, government agencies, NGOs and different development partners work in rural areas," Muhith said.
He said it would be possible to take beggars off the streets in five years if rural habitation centres could be implemented properly.
Speaking as chief guest at a seminar, Urban Poverty: Dimensions and Solutions, the minister said people can also shift to cities such as Rangpur, Mymensingh and Bogra, as they will have an access to civic amenities there.
Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), a private think tank, organised the seminar at the LGED Bhaban in Agargaon, where mayors from different municipalities, researchers, lawyers and government high-ups were present.
Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of PPRC, moderated the seminar.
As a panel discussant, Mahabub Hossain, executive director of Brac, advocated decentralised urbanisation and taking steps to increase the income of the rural population, so that they are not prompted to migrate to urban areas.
"The government should enhance trade opportunities and create more employment for them. Urban poverty is of course a reflection of rural poverty," Hossain said.
Begum Selina Hayat Ivy, mayor of Narayanganj Municipality, said slums should be removed from the urban areas so that slum dwellers cannot be used for political reasons.
Slum dwellers in the city are not staying free of cost, as they have to pay significant sums of money to influential political parties, she said.
"But almost everybody thinks the slum dwellers live free of cost."
Sarwar Jahan, a professor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said buildings should be constructed on government-owned fallow land in the urban areas for slum dwellers. They should also be given legal rights for greater participation in the development process, he said.
The government can also earn significant revenue from renting out houses built on its land to low-income groups.
The government diligently works to provide facilities to the MPs and ministers, but rarely to the poor people, said AKM Mozammel Haque, MP.
Comments