Establishing ADR courts at upazila聽聽 l聽聽 Enacting single law for all local govt bodies
Holding elections to all local govt bodies at a time
The Local Government Reform Commission has recommended the establishment of fully functional civil and criminal courts at upazilas across the country to take the judicial facilities to the doorsteps of common people to reduce the sufferings of litigants.
The reform commission made the recommendations in its report submitted to chief adviser professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna on Sunday.
Professor Tofail Ahmed, the chief of the commission, led his team while submitting the report to the chief adviser.
The report recommended 51 key recommendations aiming at overhauling Bangladesh鈥檚 local governance structure.
After receiving the report, the chief adviser emphasised the urgent need to implement the LGRC鈥檚 recommendations without any delay.
鈥楲et us not delay. These reforms must move from paper to practice as soon as possible,鈥� he said.
One of the key recommendations is the establishment of fully functional civil and criminal courts at the upazila level across the country.
After submitting the report, Tofail Ahmed at a press briefing at the Foreign Services Academy in the city said that the sufferings of the people would be reduced and witnesses in different cases would be able to come easily to the courts at upazila level and it would reduce the backlog of cases.聽
The current village court system should remain active until such upazila courts become operational, the commission said.
To resolve minor disputes, the commission recommended the formation of an Alternative Dispute Resolution Court headed by a senior assistant judge in each of the upazilas.
An ADR officer will oversee local arbitration efforts and hear appeals where settlements would fail.
The LGRC also recommended that local government institutions 鈥� Union Parishads, Upazila Parishads, Zila Parishads, Municipalities, and City Corporations 鈥� are currently governed by five separate laws and face legal complexity and redundancy.
The commission recommended consolidating the five laws into a single, simplified, inclusive, and democratic legal framework.
The enactment of this single law through an ordinance would also allow for synchronized elections across all five tiers under a single electoral schedule.
Professor Tofail Ahmed said that it was possible to hold elections for unions, upazilas and districts, municipalities and city corporations in a schedule of just 40 days.
He also said that elections to these institutions now take 225 days and the cost is Tk 2,300 crore. The cost of the polls will come down to Tk 700 crore if the elections are held in one schedule.
It recommended that the election of the chairman of the union parishad, upazila parishad and district parisahd and the mayor of the municipality and City Corporation will be held not by the direct vote of the people, but by direct vote of the members or councilors.
Later, the chairman and mayor will be elected by the votes of the elected councilors and members. It has been recommended to have full-time members as well as part-time members for the post of member or councilor.
In this process, government employees will also get the opportunity to become members or councilors at different levels of the local government.
To improve service delivery without expanding administrative costs, the LGRC advised against increasing the number of Union Parishads. Instead, it suggested increasing the number of wards and budget allocations.
Wards should be redefined based on population, ranging from 9 to 39 per Union Parishad, with each ward representing approximately 1,200鈥�1,500 residents, said the LGRC report.
A ward-based electoral system was also proposed for Upazila and Zila Parishads, with each Union divided into three Upazila Parishad wards and each Upazila divided into three Zila Parishad wards.
The report recommended keeping one-third of all wards at each level reserved for women on a rotating basis across three election cycles.
The commission stated that despite legal provisions under the Upazila Parishad Act 2009 for the transfer of 17 government departments to Upazila Parishads, only the physical relocation has occurred鈥攆unctions and finances remain centralized.
The commission recommended the full transfer of authority, staffing, and funds to ensure effective local governance.
Similarly, the Zila Parishads are currently isolated and ineffective, the report said and suggested to transfer of functions, personnel, and funds of district-level offices to Zila Parishads.
The LGRC also recommended implementing a District Planning Authority and budgeting framework.
The commission proposed restructuring the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives, merging the Department of Cooperatives and BRDB into a single organisation, and unifying the Public Health and LGED under a new 鈥楶ublic Engineering Services鈥� cadre.
It also recommended transferring the NGO Affairs Bureau from the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office to the Local Government Division to improve coordination.
The report advised a full staffing and funding for Upazila Health Complexes and Union Health and Family Welfare Centers to enhance grassroots health services.
The community clinics鈥攎any of which are now defunct鈥攕hould be merged into these centers to avoid redundancy and reduce costs, said the LGRC.
The LGRC also recommended that Union Parishads should be more actively involved in primary education oversight, with standing education committees linked directly to Upazila Assistant Education Officers.
The Commission urged for doubling the local government budget in 2025鈥�26 fiscal year and introducing an integrated budget model based on standardized codes.
One-third of national VAT revenue and one-fourth of total national revenue should be allocated to local government bodies in the long term, the report said.
The report proposed a separate audit department to conduct financial, performance, and compliance audits of local government budgets.
The LGRC report includes comprehensive reforms for the three hill districts, recommending the full transfer of 30 government departments鈥� functions, funds, and staff to the Hill District Parishad.
Elections for these Parishad must be held immediately but amendment to the law is needed, the report said, adding that traditional chiefs (Circle Chiefs) should be appointed as permanent Parisahd members to increase legitimacy.
The LGRC also recommended the dissolution of the existing 鈥楤azar Fund鈥� and leasing of markets via open bidding, introduction of VAT in the hill districts, ending current exemptions, formation of a unified 鈥楲ocal Government Service鈥� cadre for equal staffing across all local bodies, Creation of a dual-tier 鈥楥ity Government鈥� for Dhaka and Chattogram, with pilot studies in other cities.
The commission also recommended the formation of a permanent Local Government Commission via ordinance, National Decentralization Policy encompassing all three state organs鈥攍egislative, executive, and judicial.
It also recommends designating the last Saturday of January as 鈥業nternational Local Government Day.鈥�