Local govt bodies seek direct fund
The government should allow the union parishads (UP) to have budgetary allocations directly and execute development work independently, speakers said at a seminar in Dhaka yesterday.
Bangladesh Union Parishad Forum (BUPF) organised the seminar styled Union Parishads in the National Budget.
A number of UP chairmen, who attended the seminar from across the country, said that local parliament members and upazila chairmen interfere in the development work within a union without involvement of the UP chairmen.
The government must stop it, they said.
At present, monetary allocations to the UPs are channelled through the Local Government Division and other agencies.
The allocations under the annual development programme (ADP), 'food for work' and 'test relief' to the UPs should be released in a way that recognises the uniqueness of the UP role as a local government unit, said Kazi Maruful Islam, assistant professor of development studies at Dhaka University.
The proposed block allocation for the union parishads in the ADP of the upcoming fiscal year is only Tk 40 crore, while it was Tk 115 crore in the current fiscal year. It was Tk 150 crore during 2008-2009, said Islam.
Swapan Kumar Sarkar, director general of the Local Government Division, said most of the UPs now get development allocation through the Local Government Support Project (LGSP).
Only those that do not get LGSP allocation will get it from ADP block allocation.
The proposed allocation through the LGSP for the next fiscal year is Tk 425 crore, while it was Tk 330 crore in the current year, he said.
The UP chairmen should hold open budget meeting involving the people to keep it above controversy and allegations of corruption, said Sarkar.
The foremost task of the UP is to organise the people and execute development work, said Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation.
The BUPF leaders demanded immediate elections to the tenure-expired UP councils.
"The election commission should announce the schedule for holding the UP elections soon," said Md Ataharul Islam Bulbul, general secretary of BUPF.
Prof Taibur Rahman of development studies at Dhaka University, moderated the seminar, chaired by Md Mahbubur Rahman Tulu, president of BUPF.
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