Essay On Local Government In Bangladesh

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There are two categories of local government bodies operating in rural and urban areas in Bangladesh. The Ministry of Local Government coordinates the activities of these bodies at the national level. Local rural bodies are known as the Zilla Parishad and are found at the district level; Upazilla Parishad are found the Upazilla level and Union Parishad at the Union level (Uddin, 1999: 4). Local urban bodies are the City Corporation at the Metropolitan level. Divisional areas in Upazilas are known as Pourashavas (municipalities) (Uddin, 1999). The seven largest divisional cities have City Corporation status, while the rest are considered Pourashavas. There is another system of local government in for the three hill districts (Bandarban, Khagrachari …show more content…

The evolution of local government and urban governance in Bangladesh is similar to that undergone in India and Pakistan because of similar legacies of Pre-British and British rule. After independence in 1971, the Bangladeshi government introduced a new governance structure via The Bangladesh Local Government (Union Parishads and Paurasabhas) Order 1973 and revived the Municipal Administration Ordinance of 1960 through the Municipal Administration (Amendment) Order 1973. The 1973 municipal administration order was operationalized in 1977 with a view to creating the new municipal structure. Presently there are two types of urban local government working in Bangladesh. There are City Corporations in the areas of Divisional and Metropolitan Cityies, and Puarashava, or municipalities, at the district and upazilla level. There are also some urban centers under military Cantonment Boards. The City Corporation and Pourashava are governed by directly elected people’s representatives. City Corporations have a mayor as head of the Parishad (Council) and a Commissioner for each Wward. The number of wards depends on the size of the city. The tenure of an elected urban local government is five

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