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Introduce city government for development

Speakers tell seminar

STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Speakers at a seminar yesterday underscored the need for introducing city government in big cities to ensure better coordination among urban bodies and provide better services to the citizens.
It is almost impossible to meet the demands and requirements of the city dwellers with the existing centralised city management system, they said.
For its proper functioning, the city government should have both legislative and executive power so that it can formulate laws and undertake projects for development and improvement of the services, they added.
The Centre for Development Communication organised the seminar at the Jatiya Press Club in the city, with eminent economist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad in the chair.
Rahmat Ali MP, Prof Nazrul Islam of Dhaka University, Prof Amirul Islam Chowdhury, Dr Tofail Ahmed, Badiul Alam Majumder, journalist Muhammad Jahangir and Khondakar Shakhawat Ali took part in the discussion.
The speakers pointed out that the government would not have to
bring any amendment to the constitution to introduce the system because it can easily be introduced under the existing constitution.
Although the demand for city government had been raised long ago, it has gained momentum recently with the support from the mayors belonging to ruling party, they said.
They also observed that the city mayors have also become frus-
trated as they do not have enough authority to carry out infrastructure development work.
The meeting was told that Dhaka Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka is going to hold a meeting with other mayors on the issue in the next week.
Prof Muzaffer Ahmad said the city government is needed mainly for ensuring coordination among different service providers, which
the existing system lacks.
The development process also becomes slow due to lack of coordination, he added.
Prof Nazrul Islam said introducing the city government has become an urgent requirement as Dhaka city was rapidly expanding with five lakh people adding to its population every year.
He suggested that the city government should cover the adjacent districts such as Narayanganj, Gazipur, Savar and Manikganj.
He said it should work as a supreme body having authority to take up policy and planning for urban areas. The word commissioners and municipality chairmen of the areas can be the members of city government council, he explained.
Rahmat Ali MP said the system is a must for meeting the demands of city dwellers.
Dr Tofail Ahmed said the capacity of the local government has weakened because of centralised system of governance.
The concept of city government is still in the preliminary stage, Muhamad Jahangir said, adding that more discussions and debates are needed to raise awareness about the issue.