Upazila Parishad: A Centre for Development or a Battleground of Power? A Contemporary Analysis of Conflicts and Controversies

Khandakar Al Farid Uddin

Abstract

Upazila Parishad is inevitable for rural development and socio-economic empowerment but unfortunately there is confusion, debate, discussion and argument in favour or against Upazila. Since independence in 1971, successive governments have tried to use the local government system for their own political interest. The regime in power wanted to make the local government representatives for their power base and manipulated the system. The recent caretaker government of Bangladesh promulgated the Upazila Parishad Ordinance in 2008 to establish representative local government system and members of the parliament were removed from the advisory role of Upazila Parishad. The newly elected Awami League government decided to revoke Upazila Parishad Ordinance of 2008 and restore the position of MPs, which has weakened Upazila Parishad. This paper makes an attempt to better understand the evolution of the Upazila system in Bangladesh, mainly tries to draw a fresh picture of present Upazila Parishad conflicts and controversies and some arguments. Besides, there are also some alarming recommendations to strengthen the Upazila Parishad. Interestingly enough, this paper focuses on ongoing remarks regarding Upazila Parishad. This paper highlights the opinion of various thinkers as well as the speeches of policy makers and local government bodies. All the information and opinion of this paper based on articles, books, journals, newspapers, magazines and lastly the web site.

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