The High Court yesterdayissued a rule asking the government to explain in a week why the formation of Gram Sarkar should not be declared unconstitutional.

The rule came upon a writ filed by Ihe Bangladesh l£gal Aid and Services Trust in the form of public interest litigation challenging two Sections of the Gram Sarkar Act. 2003.

A High Court bench comprising Justice ABM Khairul Huq and Justice Syed Shahidur Rahman set July 14 for hearingof the rule.

The government enacted the law ori February 27 this year providing for Gram Sarkar, the lowest tier oflbcal government

Under the act. every ward of Union Parishad (UP) is treated as a village, which will have a Gram Sarkar. The statutory body headed by the UP member will consist of 15 members selected by the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO). The UP chairman will act as its advisor.

The government plans to constitute Gram Sarkar in each village of the 40,392 wards in 4,488 UPs from August 2,

Dr Kamal Hossain appearing for the petitioner submitted that the act FROM PAGE 1

is a device to create a parallel administrative body at the lowest tier of local government in violation of Article 59 of the Constitution.

The Article 59 requires every local government administration to be composed of persons elected in accordance with the law. There is no scope of selection in any local government body, he argued.

Dr Kamal contended that the act purports to create Gram Sarkar in an unconstitutional process of nomination by the UNO, defying the mandatory provision of the Constitution.

Opposing him, Additional Attorney General Fida M Kamal submitted that the Gram Sarkar Act had not yet come into force. Therefore, the petition is immature and not maintainable.