LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam at a meeting of the parliamentary watchdog on his ministry on Sunday consented to the demand of upazila chairmen for retaining their executive power.
Upazila chairmen are enjoying executive power as per the Local Government (Uapzila) Act 1998 and will continue to exercise the power, the minister told the meeting.
The Local Government (Uapzila) Bill 2010, tabled in parliament on December 2 last year, proposed handing over of the executive power of upazila chairmen to the upazila council.
The council consists of chairman, two vice chairmen of a upazila and chairmen of all the union parishads under the same upazila.
Upazila chairmen and vice-chairmen in October threatened that they would resign en mass if the bill is passed in parliament. They, however, refrained from doing so as per advice from the state minister for local government Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
The Upzilla Bill 2010 proposed that the government will be able to suspend any elected chairmen and vice chairmen if the authorities take cognisance of criminal charges against them.
The parliamentary standing committee on the local government ministry also recommended that vice-chairmen should head 17 committees of the upazila council.
As per the parliamentary watchdog?s recommendation, upazila chairmen will issue Annual Performance Report (APR) on Uapzila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs).
?The upazila chairmen will enjoy executive power of the council,? Noor-E-Alam Chowdhury, a committee member who presided over the meeting of the parliamentary body, told daily sun after the meeting.
Sources at Parliament secretariat said the current session will conclude on
Monday meaning that the Upazila Bill will get through the House on the day.
Leaders of the upazila chairmen association earlier told daily sun that the bill would make the elected representatives subservient to the Upazila Nirbahi officers (UNOs).
They demanded that the elected chairmen should have the power to issue annual confidential report (ACR) ? an essential document for the promotion of the public servants?to have control over the bureaucracy.
?They (chairmen) will issue APR for the UNOs,? said Chowdhury adding that the standing committee made the suggestion to strike a balance in the upazila administration.
Ruling Awami League?s allies ? Rashed Khan Menon of the Workers? Party and Hasanul Haq Inu of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal?opposed curtailing the power of upzilla chairmen.
While tabling the bill in parliament around a year back, Syed Ashraful Islam rejected objection of the two lawmakers, saying that the parliamentary committee will amend the anomalies, if any, in the proposed law.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting with the leaders of the upazila chairmen association assured them of looking into their interests.
Source: daily-sun.com
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