Local government in Bangladesh

Last updated
Local government in Bangladesh
BD Map admin.svg
Category Unitary state
Location Bangladesh
Number
  • 8 Divisional Commissionerates
  • 64 District Councils
  • 495 Sub-district Councils
    • 4,573 Union Councils
    • 329 Town Councils
    • 12 City Councils
Populations3,212 (Union Councils) – 36,054,418 (Divisions)[ citation needed ]
Areas9 km2 (Union Councils) – 7,468 km2 (Divisions)[ citation needed ]
Government
  • Council government
Subdivisions

There are 8 divisions and 64 districts in Bangladesh, each district further subdivided into upazila (lit. subdistricts). The area within each subdistrict, except for those in metropolitan areas, is divided into several unions , with each union consisting of multiple villages. Direct elections are held for each union (or ward), electing a chairperson and a number of members. In 1997, a parliamentary act was passed to reserve three seats (out of 12) in every union for female candidates. [1] Following elections in the 2014–16 period, 25.2% (14,763/ 58,543) of councillors were women, up from 23.4% in the 2011–13 period. [2]

Contents

In Bangladesh, the rural and regional local government have four tiers:

Divisional administration

The Divisional Commissioner is the administrative head of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is appointed by the government from a Senior secretary of the B.C.S. Administration Cadre. The role of a Divisional Commissioner's office is to act as the supervisory head of all the government Offices (except the central government offices) situated in the division. Divisional Commissioner's are given the direct responsibility of supervising the revenue and development administration of a division. The Divisional Commissioner is assisted by the several Additional Divisional Commissioners, Assistant Divisional Commissioners and other bureaucratic officials. [3] [4] [5]

District administration

District Council (or Zila Parishad) is a local government body at the district level. [6] The Bengali word parishad means council and zila parishad translates to district council. The Deputy Commissioner (popularly abbreviated to "DC") is the executive head of the district. The Deputy Commissioner is appointed by the government from a Joint secretary of the B.C.S. Administration Cadre. But Zila Parishad has a different setup from the DC office. Currently, the Chairman of each District Council is an appointee from the Central Government. An officer ranked Deputy Secretary works as the Chief Executive of the council. The District Council, being the highest tier of Local Government, is supposed to be an autonomous and the supreme body to look after the overall development activities in district level. But in practice, it is merely a setup confined with few charitable works.

Sub-District administration

Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO, or Upazila Executive Officer; Bengali : উপজেলা নির্বাহী কর্মকর্তা) is a non-elected administrator in Upazila. UNOs are Senior Assistant Secretary of Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). They act as executive officer of the upazila under the elected posts. Each Upazila Parishad (or council) has a chairman, a vice-chairman and a woman vice-chairman. All three are elected through direct popular election. Union Parishad chairman within the upazila are considered as the members of the porishod. The post of a woman vice-chairman was created to ensure at least one-third woman representation in the all elected posts of the local government. On 22 January 2010 the first election in 18 years of Upazila Porishod was held. [7] One-third of the seats in the Upazila Parishad are reserved for women. [2]

Local councils

Village Council

Union Councils (or Union Parishads or Unions) are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Bangladesh. [8] Each Union is made up of nine Wards. Usually one village is designated as a Ward. There are 4,573 Unions in Bangladesh. [2] A Union Council consists of a chairman and twelve members including three members exclusively reserved for women. Union Parishads are formed under the Local Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009. [9] The boundary of each Union is demarcated by the Deputy Commissioner of the District. A Union Council is the body primarily responsible for agricultural, industrial and community development within the local limits of the union. Under the legislation, 25% of union parishad seats are reserved for women. [2]

Town Council

In Bangladesh, Municipal Councils or Town Municipalities or Paurasabha or Municipality is an urban local body that administers a city of population 100,000 or more than. The members of the Paurasabha are elected representatives for a term of five years. [2] The town is divided into wards according to its population, and representatives are elected from each ward. The Paurasabha members are known as Councillors. The number of wards in a municipal area is determined by the population of the Town. The Mayor is the executive head of the Municipal Councils are elected for a span of five years.

City Council

The cities with a city corporation, having mayoral elections, include Dhaka South, Dhaka North, Chattogram, Khulna, Sylhet, Rajshahi, Barishal, Rangpur, Cumilla, Mymensingh, Narayanganj and Gazipur. Other major cities, these and other municipalities electing a chairperson, include Faridpur, Jashore, Bogura, Dinajpur, Pabna, Kushtia, Cox's Bazar, Noakhali, Patuakhali and Rangamati. Both the municipal heads are elected for a span of five years. Due to rapid growth of towns and cities, in sub-urban area, the Union Parishad is frequently replaced by the Municipal Corporations (Pourashava) and City Corporations.

See also

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Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It lies about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to the south, Tripura state of India to the east and Munshiganj and Chandpur districts to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khagrachhari District</span> District in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Administrative geography of Bangladesh</span>

Bangladesh is divided into 8 divisions (bibhag) and 64 districts, Although, these have only a limited role in public policy. For the purposes of local government, the country is divided into upazilas (sub-districts), "municipalities" or town councils (pourashova), city corporations and union councils . The diagram below outlines the five tiers of government in Bangladesh.

<i>Upazila</i> Administrative divisions of Bangladesh

An upazila, formerly called thana, is an administrative division in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a borough of Western countries. Rural upazilas are further administratively divided into union council areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahrasti Upazila</span> Upazila in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Shahrasti is an upazila of Chandpur District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patiya Upazila</span> Upazila in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh

Patiya is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barura Upazila</span> Upazila in Chittagong, Bangladesh

Barura is an upazila of Comilla District in the Division of Chittagong, Bangladesh.

An Upazila Nirbahi Officer is the chief executive officer of an upazila (subdistrict) and a mid-level officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service, known as Bangladesh Administrative Service. A senior assistant secretary is usually assigned to this post.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badarkhali Union</span> Place in Chittagong Division, Bangladesh

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Bangladesh</span> Smallest rural administrative unit in Bangladesh

Union council, also known as union parishad, rural council, rural union and simply union, is the smallest rural administrative and local government unit in Bangladesh, with zila parishads being the largest rural authorities and upazila parishads being the intermediate level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Districts of Bangladesh</span> Second-level administrative divisions of Bangladesh

The divisions of Bangladesh are further divided into districts or zilas. The headquarters of a district is called the district seat. There are 64 districts in Bangladesh. The districts are further subdivided into 495 subdistricts or upazilas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District councils of Bangladesh</span>

A district council or zila parishad, or zilla parishad is a local government body at the district level in Bangladesh. The Bengali word parishad means council and zila parishad translates to district council.

The Zila Panchayat or District Development Council or Zilla Parishad or District Panchayat or is the third tier of the Panchayati Raj system and functions at the district levels in all states. A Zila Parishad is an elected body representing the entire rural area of a district. A District Panchayat is headed by a President, who is an elected member. Block Pramukh of Block Panchayat are also represented in Zila Parishad. The members of the State Legislature and the members of the Parliament of India are members of the Zila Parishad. The Zila parishad acts as the link between the state government and the village-level Gram Panchayat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Satkhira District</span>

Union councils of Satkhira District are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Satkhira District of Bangladesh. The district consists of two municipalities, 7 upazilas, 79 union porishods, 8 thana and 1436 villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Narail District</span>

Union councils of Narail District are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Narail District of Bangladesh. The district consists of 1 municipalities, 3 upazilas, 39 union porishods and 651 villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local Government Division</span>

Local Government Division is a Bangladesh government is a government division under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives responsible for the development and supporting local government bodies. Mohammod Ibrahim is the secretary in charge of division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Magura District</span>

Union councils of Magura District are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Magura District of Bangladesh. The district consists of 1 municipalities, 4 upazilas, 36 union porishods, mouza 537 and 730 villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Kushtia District</span>

Union councils of Kushtia District are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Kushtia District of Bangladesh. The district consists of 5 municipalities, 6 upazilas, 57 ward, 70 mahalla, 71 union porishods, mouza 710 and 978 villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union councils of Chuadanga District</span>

Union councils of Chuadanga District are the smallest rural administrative and local government units in Chuadanga District of Bangladesh. The district consists of 4 municipalities, 4 upazilas, 5 thana, 57 ward, 70 mahalla, 38 union porishods, mouza 376 and 455 villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Divisional commissioner (Bangladesh)</span>

The divisional commissioner is the chief bureaucratic and revenue officer of a division in Bangladesh. The commissioner supervises the revenue, development and administration work of all the districts and the deputy commissioner under the jurisdiction of his division.

References

  1. ↑ Local Government Act, No. 20, 1997
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Local Government System in Bangladesh" (PDF). Commonwealth Local Government Forum.
  3. ↑ "List of Divisional Commissioners". pmis.mopa.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 2014-07-17.
  4. ↑ "List of Additional Divisional Commissioners". pmis.mopa.gov.bd. Archived from the original on 2014-06-27.
  5. ↑ "New divisional commissioner joins".
  6. ↑ Kamal Siddiqui. "Local Government". In Sirajul Islam (ed.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  7. ↑ "Upazila polls influenced: EC slams ruling party for misusing offices, controlling administration; tells of violence, ballot-stuffing, seizing polling stations by AL men; decides to probe low turnout reason". 23 January 2009.
  8. ↑ Pranab Panday (2017). "Decentralisation without decentralisation: Bangladesh's failed attempt to transfer power from the central government to local governments". Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration. 39 (3): 180, 185. doi:10.1080/23276665.2017.1363940. S2CID   168994351. Union Parishad (union council) ... At present, a three-tier local government system exists in Bangladesh. At the local level, there are Union Parishads (UPs), and at the top level there are Zila Parishads (ZP). In-between these two levels. there are Upazila Parishads (UZP). Both UP and UZP are run by elected representatives.
  9. ↑ "Local Government (Union Parishads) Act, 2009 (in Bangla)". Bangladesh Code. Ministry of Law, Government of Bangladesh.
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