The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Ordinance, 1978 and the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Ordinance, 1982 will be amended to ensure accountability of the local and foreign NGOs, said LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan.

Mannan, also general secretary of ruling BNP, said 1,701 local and 185 foreign NGOs registered with the Bureau of NGO Affairs are working in the country.

The government had earlier initiated a bill to amend the Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Ordinance. But they had to withdraw the bill from the parliament secretariat in the face of opposition and criticism from the NGO sector.

The LGRD minister said the government has already initiated steps to amend the ordinances to make them more effective.

"I hope the amendment proposal will be placed before the House very soon on completion of all formalities," said Mannan, who is also in charge of the Prime Minister's Office in parliament.

On allegation of involvement in internal politics against some NGOs voiced by a Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker, the minister said a probe has been instituted. "Action will be taken against the NGOs if found guilty of political interference," he said.

Asked about the government's move to control the NGOs, he said, "We don't want to control activities of the NGOs as we want to see them work independently."

On high interest rate charged by the NGOs for microcredit, he said, "The government has taken initiatives to balance the interest rate of the NGOs. A committee headed by the governor of the Bangladesh Bank is working to this end."

Mannan said there is no provision of 'district minister' in Bangladesh and the government only forms committees with lawmakers in every district to monitor development work and law and order.