Make UPs self-reliant for service to people
Khulna workshop told
Speakers at a day-long workshop here yesterday underscored need for further strengthening Union Parishads to make them full fledged service-oriented and self-reliant development institutions.
They also strongly supported greater involvement of women and minority community people in Union Parishad activities and evolve ways to increase sources of revenue earnings for the local bodies. Organised by NGO Rupantar, the workshop on 'How to increase revenue earning of Union Pwas, was held at local hotel in Khulna city with its chairman Mofazzel Hossain Manju in the chair.
Expert on Local government affairs Dr. Tofail Ahmed and Prof Mohammad Mohabbat Khan of Dhaka University addressed the workshop. Seven UP chairman from Khulna, Jessore, Bagerhat and some other northern districts also spoke.
The UP chairmen informed the workshop that they do not get any financial support from any government institution to boost development activities in their unions.
President of Khulna divisional unit of Bangladesh Union Parishad Forum (BUPF) Gazi Tafsir Ahmed said that people must be made aware of the services they are entitled to from local governments. But UPs can not realise taxes due to various reasons.
Rupantar director Rafiqul Islam Khokan in his keynote speech stressed on the need for identifying new sources of income to run UPs properly.
He suggested that taxes can be realised private hatcheries, kitchen markets, banks, poultry farms, mobile phone companies for their towers, NGO credit programmes, bill boards, brick fields and sand traders.
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