Ashraf questions need for Zila Parishad

The government has no plans to hold Zila Parishad elections, LGRD and Co-operatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam has said.

“First it needs to be determined whether Zila Parishads are indeed needed,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

According to him, 'too many local governments are not useful' and additional branches of the government are not good for a democratic country.

His remarks came at the end of the session at the ministry on the second day of the conference of the deputy commissioners (DC).

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Asked whether Zila Parishads would be made defunct, he said, “This is a matter of consideration. Everything must be evaluated. No government is absolute.”

Syed Ashraf said national level discussions were needed before finalising the decision to dissolve the Zila Parishads.

The Awami League government has been emphasising decentralisation of the administration.

Despite Ashraf's current stance, it was the then Awami League government that had promulgated the 'Zila Parishad Act' in 2000 to 'strengthen the local governments'.

A Zila Parishad, or district council, consists of a chairman, 15 members and five reserved seat women members. All of them are elected by the public representatives of the other local governments of the relevant district.

Apart from the three districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Zila Parishads in 61 districts are currently run by government-appointed deputy commissioners.

Syed Ashraf, however, emphasised strengthening Union Parishads.

"Zila Parishad is on the top, then Upazila Parishad, city corporation is after that and then the municipalities - where would the grassroots elected Union Parishad go? The more structures you form, the more fund will have to be distributed."

He also said issues like funding and speed of work of the local governments were discussed in the DCs' conference.

"Local government related issues are the most important."

Deputy commissioners also made their demands regarding the local government infrastructure, he said.

He assured them of meeting their demands.