Local government means the elected or appointed local bodies with regulatory and development tasks and it works as a local agency and staff of the central government. The Bengal Local Government Act of 1885 provided the first framework with provisions for local governments at the three levels: union, thana and district. The present government has reintroduced the Gram Sarkar System, introduced by late president Ziaur Rahman, and so the local Govt. system in Bangladesh is comprised of Zila Parisads (ZP), Upazila Parisads (UZP), Union Parisads (UP) and Gram Sarkar (GS). Basically, one Ward of a Union Parisad is recognised as ‘Gram Sarkar’, which works as a facilitator of the Union Parisad. Directly elected chairman executed the activities of the Upazila Parisads but it was abolished in 1991 and now the fate of the Upazila Parisads is uncertain. Zila Parisads have essentially existed only on paper since independence. In the four-tier local government, Union Parisads have the longest institutional history since 1870 and fully elected bodies were formed in 1962 and it has been the crucial point in the local government system.
Author: Siddiqee, Md. Shahadat Hossain
Type: Report
Year: 2004
