The government has again appointed administrators to Dhaka South and Dhaka North city corporations for six months, instead of electing public representatives three years after the erstwhile DCCs bifurcation.

Rakhal Chandra Barman, director general of the jute department,

yesterday received appointment as administrator of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) while Md Shawkat Mostafa, additional secretary (OSD) of the home ministry, took charge of the south part of the capital.

They would be the seventh-term administrators to lead the organisations since the bifurcation of Dhaka city corporation in November 2011. Earlier, 12 administrators from admin cadre discharged duties as in-charge of the city corporations: two at a time for six months.

The government claims that it split DCC to improve civic services given to city dwellers but in reality, garbage management, mosquito control activities and maintenance of the city streets, which are the main jobs of the corporations, have deteriorated.

Residents of the capital have complained that they face difficulties while trying to obtain different certificates from 10 zonal offices of DSCC and DNCC.

Staff of both city corporations demand bribes for issuing certificates like citizenship certificates and heir certificates, they said, but earlier people could get certificates by paying nominal fees.

Elections to the 120 councilors' posts have also not been held since the bifurcation. Only 10 zonal officers, one in each zone, perform the duties of councilors.

Unlike councilors, the zonal officials ask people to submit a huge number of papers to get certificates. The process used to be very simple and bribe-free when councilors dealt with such matters, city residents say.

At a cabinet meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina turned away a proposal for extending the office term of Dhaka city administrators to one year from six months.

She said mayoral elections would be held early next year.

The last election to the undivided Dhaka city corporation was held in 2002, in which BNP leader Sadeque Hossain Khoka won the mayoral post.

Though his tenure ended in May 2007, he stayed in office until November, 2011 before the Awami League-led grand alliance government split the city corporation, allocating 36 wards to DSCC and 56 to DNCC.