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Local govt to stay fettered in politics

Fresh bill being drafted to cover Jan 22 polls, let MPs meddle in development activities

SHAKHAWAT LlTON
The efforts to free the local government bodies from political control might go in vain as provisions in the ordinances concerned requiring the public representatives-elect to resign from their party positions before taking oath are likely to be dropped.
The immediate past caretaker government had three ordinances proclaimed to define formation and functions of city corporations, municipalities and upazila parishads, repealing the local government laws in force then.
Like the other ordinances, the three were placed before the House on January 25. They must be ratified within constitution-stipulated 30 days since their placement, or else they will cease to be effective on February 24.
The special committee of the Jatiya Sangsad
on Sunday selected two of the three ordinances -- Local Government (city corporation) and Local Government (municipality) ordinances--for ratification. But it did not recommend the other -- Local Government (upazila parishad) ordinance -- for ratification.
The LGRD ministry is drafting a fresh bill on upazila parishads without the provision in the ordinance that required the chairmen and vice-chairmen elect of upazila parishads to resign from their party posts before taking oath, sources said.
The new bill will have provisions to safeguard the January 22 upazila elections held under tlie ordinance. In the new law, members of parliament might have jurisdictions to be involved in development activities at upazila level. And the special committee has decided to drop similar provisions from the ordinances on city corporations and municipalities when those will be sent to it for scrutiny after being placed as bills in parliament, committee members said.
In that event, mayors and councillors of city corporations and municipalities, and chairmen and vice-chairmen of upazila parishads will not face any legal barrier to continue in their party posts.
The new ordinances widened the jurisdiction of local government institutions. They imposed restrictions on the representatives' holding party * posts on observation that local bodies fail to live up to public expectations due to the incumbents' involvement in politics.
Representatives in the past had allegedly used their offices as means to meet political ends.
To do away with the practices, the ordinances say those elected to local governments must resign from their party posts before taking oath.
In compliance with the provisions, mayors and councillors of four city corporations and nine municipalities quit party positions before swearing in in August last year.
Chairmen and vice-chairmen-elect in the upazila polls are lucky in that they will not have to do that before oath.
Contacted yesterday, Advocate Rahmat All, chairman of the special committee, said the local government representatives should be allowed to hold party posts.
'If members of parliament can hold party posts, then why
local government representatives will be deprived of their political rights," he said.
The committee will scrutiny provisions of the two ordinances on city corporations and municipalities when these will be sent to it after being placed in parliament as bills. Rahmat Ali said.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam too has expressed disapproval of the provisions for resignation, and said those were designed to 'eliminate politics'.
Awami League (AL), now the ruling party, has all along been opposing the three ordinances. It believes this will create a leadership vacuum in the grassroots of political parties.
AL, which won the majority posts in upazila parishads, city corporations and municipalities, will be the worst affected if the ordinances are passed as law
Most of 278 mayors and councillors elected in August 4 polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities belonged to AL and had to leave party posts before taking oath.
The party however did not accept their resignation letters.
Grassroots level leaders of the AL-led ruling alliance also won most of the upazila parishads.
The Election Commission (EC) Secretariat has lately published gazettes with polk results of446 upazilas.
As per the ordinances, chairmen and vice-chairmen-elect will have to take oath in 30 days after publication of the gazettes.
If they take oath after the ordinances lose legal force on February 24, they will not have to give up their party posts.