|
|
 |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 5 August 2003 |
 |
|
 |
World | |
| News Business Features Editorial Security Politics World Letters Sports Obituaries
|
B'desh sets up village govt system amid hurdles DHAKA, Monday (AFP) Bangladesh has started setting up more than 40,000 village governments, the lowest tier of administration, but faces political and legal opposition to the move, officials said. Local government ministry officials said the process to set up 40,392 "Gram Sarkars" or village governments started Saturday and would be completed within 45 days. The village government system was revived after 22 years following the recent adoption of a law by the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led four-party Islamist alliance in parliament. It was first initiated in 1980 by former president Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP, but was dropped the following year after he was assassinated and the regime changed. The 15-members of the village governments will be appointed by the central government. They will consist of a chief, an advisor, while the other members will represent different groups including women, farmers, farm workers and teachers. They will function under the Union Parishads or local government councils, which are directly elected by the people. But the plan faces criticism from the opposition and a writ in the High Court on its legality. The main opposition Awami League of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed and other smaller political parties have called on Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's government to give up the plan. They say the new system will "destroy the elected local government councils and lead to conflict in rural areas. "It will bring no good to the people, but will be an extension of the ruling alliances' influence at the village level," they said in a statement. But Local Government Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan brushed aside the criticisms. "The government decided to reintroduce the Gram Sarkar to ensure direct participation of the rural people in the development process," he told reporters. According to Bhuiyan, who is also BNP's secretary general, the system will "bridge the gap between rural development and mainstream development ... it is an auxiliary body and not an administrative unit." Rights group Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust has filed a writ in the High Court against the government move saying it violated the country's constitution and seeking a stay order. The court last week refused to issue a stay order, but it asked the government to explain why the law should not be declared "illegal and ultra vires." A hearing on the matter was likely to take place later Sunday, a working day in predominantly Muslim Bangladesh. Bhuiyan said since the court did not issue a stay order on implementing the village governments, the process went ahead Saturday as scheduled. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
Produced by Lake House |
