Prospect of Building a Local Self-government at the Upazila/Thana Level : Towards a Decentralized Rural Administration in Bangladesh

Abstract

It has been said that local government is the level of government closest to the citizens. Various studies indicate that local government with decentralized authority is the key to improving accountability of public service delivery. However, local government in Bangladesh is usually dependent on the central government for most of their activities, and rural administrative units such as Zila, Upazila/Thana, Union are not properly structured. The present study examines the rural government administration in Bangladesh especially at the Upazilla level. The Local Government Ordinance 1982, provided details on the structure and functions of the Upazila. The Upazila replaced the oldest institution called Thana. It has been created as a local administration under the decentralization program of the government. Though the creation of Upazilla was a step towards decentralized administration, it has some weaknesses. The Upazila system has been abolished since 1991. Several studies show that Upazila system was a unique attempt to break the traditional bureaucracy at the grass-root levels, it should be continued in spite of initial problems. Recently, Care-taker governments in Bangladesh also have been considered to restart the Upazila system. Therefore, present study aimed to analyze the local government administration at the Upazila level, and examine the prospects of building a decentralized rural government in Bangladesh.