City corps, municipalities to get full-time admins soon

The Local Government Division will soon appoint permanent administrators in city corporations, municipalities, and upazila parishads.

During a discussion arranged by Bangladesh Secretariat Reporters' Forum, Local Government Adviser AF Hassan Ariff today (30 October) disclosed the matter. 

After the interim government took office, the mayors and commissioners of the city corporations and mayors and councillors in the municipalities have been removed. The government also dismissed the chairmen, vice-chairmen, and women vice-chairmen of the upazila parishads. 

Adviser Hassan Ariff said, "Full-time administrators will be appointed soon, as managing large city corporations, municipalities, and upazilas cannot be effectively done with temporary responsibilities. These institutions also have ongoing regular duties. Thus, the new administrators will be entrusted with full-time roles."

However, the chairmen and members of the union parishads have not yet been removed.  

Regarding the union parishad chairmen, the adviser said "Groundwork is underway for the removal of UP chairmen and members. There are 4,600 UPs. It's a huge task and decisions will be made based on the circumstances."

He further remarked, "The government's term for managing state affairs should be four years, similar to the US. There is an election reform commission that will hopefully consider this. The union parishad's term was once three years before being extended to five, but this extension has yielded no benefits, and there has been no review of its impact. I think a three-year term would be more effective."

AF Hassan Arif stated that dengue-related deaths are on the decline. Pesticides are being applied to control mosquito larvae, and fogging operations are underway.

He emphasised that the claim of higher dengue mortality rates in the Dhaka South City Corporation is misleading. Large hospitals located in Dhaka South are receiving patients from various regions of the country, which contributes to the increased number of reported deaths in the city.

During the meeting, the adviser discussed the activities of the Land Ministry. He highlighted the need for accurate surveying to ensure proper land ownership and announced a pilot project for tech-based land surveying. Online services for records, land registration, and tax payments are now available. 

He also noted ongoing efforts to bring the Directorate of Registration under the Ministry of Land from the Ministry of Law.

The interim government has dismissed the mayors of 12 city corporations, mayors of municipalities nationwide, and chairmen of 60 zila parishads, and all chairmen, vice-chairmen, women vice-chairpersons. 

In total, 1,876 elected representatives across these four tiers of local government have been removed.

To fill the vacancies, in the city corporations, additional secretaries and officials of equivalent rank, along with divisional commissioners, have been designated as administrators.

In the zila parishads, additional divisional commissioners (general) and deputy commissioners have been designated as administrators. The Upazila Nirbahi Officers (UNOs) are serving as administrators in the upazila parishads. 

In the municipalities, deputy directors of local government, additional deputy commissioners, and assistant commissioners (land) have taken up the roles.