DHAKA, Apr 6, 2022 (BSS) – District Council (Amendment) Bill,2022 was passed in parliament today with provision of removing the requirement for every district council to have the same number of members.

Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul islam moved the bill in the House which was unanimously passed by voice votes with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

Piloting the bill, LGRD minister said the objective of the government is to strengthen the law and to activate the district council through building a linkage between other local government tiers.  

Protesting the enactment of the law, BNP lawmaker HarunurRashid of Chapainawabganj-3 said the draft of the law is defective.

The existing law says every district must have 15 general members and five seats reserved for women members.

The amendment proposes to have one member from each upazila (number equal to the total number of upazilas in a district) and women members equivalent to one-third of the number of total members including the chairman.

The proposed act also removed the Election Commission from the duty of making voter lists.

It also says that the government can appoint an administrator to run the council once the district council ends its tenure.

According to the existing law, city corporation mayors and councillors, upazila council chairmen, vice chairmen, municipality mayors and councillors, and union council chairmen and members cast vote in the district council.

Adding a new sub-section to the law, the proposed amendment says they will be able to participate in the council meeting with voting rights.

The district council’s activities will also come under the close monitoring of the government according to the proposed law.

The council will submit an annual report of its activities to the government within 90 days of the end of a fiscal year, it said.