"Empowerment of local bodies"
This refers to your editorial “Empowerment of local bodies” (16 Nov 2007) and your support and plea for setting up a three-tier local institution in the form of Zila, Upazila and Union Parishad. I beg to disagree with you and suggest that our Union Parishad be re-organised and real administrative power given to this grassroots level tier of local government.
Each of our Union Parishad should have an elected body with an independent administrative unit to execute the decisions at local level and to follow-up all instructions from the central government. Union Parishad members should have a reasonable salary. The executive branch of the Union Parishad should be independent to carry out or execute the Union Parishad's decisions.
The Union Parishad shall be responsible for primary and middle school education, healthcare, law and order, housing, care for the destitute, employment of union's every able-bodied person (man or woman) and in short, the Parishad should do everything that goes with the welfare of its inhabitants. The Union Parishad shall act even as a primary court of justice and all local disputes shall be mitigated in this court.
There should be a small police force (3/4 policemen) and a jail under the Union Parishad. Present day DC or Upazila Nirbahi Officer shall have no function whatsoever and the offices and posts of these two administrative systems should be dissolved as soon as possible. To co-ordinate between the central government and the Union Parishad, a coordinating office can be established at district or divisional level with only the power of coordination with the central government and nothing else.
This is how the local government in most of the developed West European countries works.
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