Hindustan Surkhiyan Desk: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today asked the LGRD ministry to sketch out a master plan to build up all upazila under a specific development design aimed at protecting cropland and check sporadic construction of buildings, roads and other structures.
“Unplanned development of the upazilas should be regulated and roads and ways of the upazilas should have to be made in a planned manner to save cropland as well as public money,” she said while visiting the Local Government, Rural Development (LGRD) and Cooperatives ministry at Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka.
The master plan should have a complete layout for housings, hospitals, markets, schools, collages, playgrounds, agricultural farms, industries and other facilities, she said, adding that people would accept the concept if “we can do this once properly”.
Referring to the Bangabandhu’s initiative to constitute 60 districts, the prime minister said Bangabandhu made every district as an administrative unit to carry out development works, adding that “We should also do something like that to ensure development from grassroots level”.
Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Md Tazul Islam gave welcome address while it’s State Minister Swapan Bhattacharjee and Secretary SM Golam Faruk and senior officials of the ministry and Prime Minister Office were present.
The prime minister said the government is mulling to prepare annual budget separately for every district and upazila considering its size, population and geographical aspects to meet the demands of the local people, reach the services to the doorsteps of the people and ensure optimum utilization of public money.
Pointing out the importance of the LGRD Ministry for country’s development, the premier said her government wants to decentralize the administration gradually aimed at strengthening the local government bodies, engaging them in their local development initiatives and making all development sustainable.
“We give highest budget allocation for the LGRD ministry. We will be able to alleviate poverty to a larger extent if the LGRD ministry functions properly,” the prime minister said, adding that the country would go ahead as quick as “we can free the country from poverty”.
