This major policy decision taken by the government has ample merit, so much so that one wonders why the cumbersome two tier system of centrally allocating funds to the UPs and releasing money through the Upazila Chairmen, let alone the interfering role of the MPs in between, has hitherto been in vogue! First and foremost, the change represents devolution of power in a concrete and tangible manner. None would be in a position now to pull the purse strings. Resultantly, the UPs will be in effective charge of planning, approving and implementing projects. The delays entailed in the approval and execution of projects should be obviated from now on. Direct funding would help reduce corruption and eliminate the possibility of cost escalation in project implementation.

Let the UP leaders not lose sight of the fact, however that the welcome shift in the funding policy actually sets the ball rolling into their court in terms of the increased responsibility devolving on them to make an optimal utilisation of the funds being placed at their disposal. They cannot anymore complain of corruption which had earlier been resorted to by the vested quarters when it came to securing allocation and release of money for the UPs.

Now that the UPs' demand for direct financing has been met, they should feel obligated to prove equal to the task and strive to give the people the value for their money. Their procedures must be fully transparent. Our suggestion is that they make it a point to furnish details of allocations made to projects and money utilisation patterns to the public on a regular basis. Why not add income data to the display chart?

To ensure maximum transparency, it is incumbent on the local self-government ministry and the Union Parishad leadership to evolve foolproof auditing mechanisms. It is also highly imperative that there is a uniformly applied criterion for money allocations so that the latter are devoid of any partisan considerations.