The region that constitutes Bangladesh has experienced introduction of various institutions and development programmes since the Chowkidary Panchayat Act of 1870 passed by the British colonialists. The Act of 1885 gave a clear shape to the local government tier at present Union Parishad (Council) consisting of around 20 villages. In the subsequent orders, ordinances and Acts the Parishad has been given multifarious functions to perform including law and order, physical infrastructure development, agriculture, education, health, sanitation, family planning, etc. In order to perform these functions resources like grants, taxation power and other avenues of resource generation were allowed to it. Along with local government institutions cooperative as a village based organisation was introduced by the British in 1904 for delivery of credit to the people for production, income and employment generation activities at the household level.

In Bangladesh various NBDs posted officers and staff at the Upazila level as it was considered as the focal point for development administration, planning, training and provision of services and supplies. Similarly, as many as 11 Departments posted staff around Union Paris had to facilitate delivery of services at the doorstep of the rural communities and to work as extension agents under the guidance and supervision of the Upazila level officers. Since the seventies of the last century non-government organizations (NGOs) came in the scene with their approach of organising small target group households including the women for micro credit delivery with the prime objective of alleviating poverty. With the privatisation programme initiated by the government since the eighties of the last century under the structural reorganisation programme the private sector agencies also emerged for delivery of inputs to the people. Service delivery at the village community level by the NBDs, NGOs and the private sector experienced duplication of efforts, by passing of some community people, crisis of supply, lack of planning and coordination of such activities. Above all, these efforts lacked good governance, accountability and transparency.

The UP with its long history of 125 years of elected local council and being closest to the rural communities faced the situation of missing link between the people at the grassroots and the service delivery at the far away Upazila level. To overcome the situation and to strengthen its capacity as a participatory planning and coordinating unit of information dissemination and service delivery some action projects were conducted by the development partners, bilateral donors and national agencies for the last one decade. Four such projects are now being pilot tested on a wider scale by two Divisions of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. These projects have shown the feasibility and potential of strengthening the input delivery and extension services, participatory planning, accountability, transparency and above all coordinating role of UP for integrated rural development.

The projects have some common features like focus on Union level programmes, community approach, empowerment of concerned stakeholders, micro-infrastructure development and integration and coordination of activities of all the service providers. The Sirajgonj Local Governance Fund Project (SLGDFP) is being implemented by the Office of the Director General, Local Government covering all the Unions in Sirajganj district. With funding support from the World Bank, UNDP and UNCDF the project is going to be expanded to wider regions of the country. It emphasises block funding directly to UP to strengthen the council and to give it greater financial autonomy and budgetary certainty. Good governance issues like participatory decision making and monitoring, performance based funding, open budget preparation through consultation with the community in their presence, women empowerment, participatory performance assessment of UP, transparency and accountability are stressed in the project.

The Participatory Rural Development Project (PRDP) being pilot tested at 16 Unions by the Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB) with technical assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) emphasises Union Parishad as a focal administrative unit for rural development, but the NBD staff posted around the UP did not have any linkage and coordination with the UP. Community people, in the absence of a structured mechanism were confused as to where and whom to approach for services. Service providers were also not finding out an appropriate outlet or window to provide services to the people at the grassroots level.

PRDP aims at promoting Link Model, a coherent framework to link villages with the local government institutions (UP) and service departments to incorporate the needs of the villagers in the development process. It thus promotes coordination among the local government council, NBDs and NGOs and links these services to villagers thus making a synergy relation between service providers and service recipients. It initiates micro-infrastructure projects with compulsory 20 percent local contribution and hundred percent payment of Union Tax. An employee of BRDB works as the Union Development Officer as facilitator of Union Coordination Committee (UCC) composed of UP members, NBD staff and representatives of Village Committees (VC).

The Local Development Coordination Project (LDCP), a sister project of PRDP is being pilot tested in 20 Union Parishads of Greater Faridpur by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) under its Greater Faridpur Infrastructure Development Project with only technical support from JICA. It follows PRDP formula and slightly deviates in respect of formation of Ward Development Committee (WDC) with Ward UP member, Gram Sarkar Members, selected members from the Ward and representatives of women members from the two women forums (WF) formed by it in each Ward. Unlike PRDP it has no organisation at the village level like VC. It emphasises Union Development Coordination Committee (UDCC) at the Union and WDC at the Ward level, service delivery and training of the villagers by the NBD staff through village visits and reporting of the activities at the Union Development Coordination Committee Meeting (UDCCM).

LDCP lays stress on making Union Parishad Complex, now being built for office and meeting rooms of Union Parishad and the NBD staff, as the one stop service centre and hub of activities of the WDCs, NBDs and NGOs under the coordination of Union Parishad.

NBD staff visit villages for awareness development, information dissemination to the villagers through discussion and training. WDC and WF arranges such discussion and training sessions. One Union Coordination Officer (UCO) deputed by LGED works as the facilitator of UDCCM. LDCP emphasises micro-infrastructure development by the WDC. As a condition the community is to pay hundred percent of the Union Parishad tax.

The Comprehensive Village Development Programme (CVDP) is being implemented by the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), Comilla and the Rural Development Academy (RDA), Bogra in 80 Upazilas of the country through GOB fund. It forms one registered cooperative at the village with open membership to all the adult males and females. It forms capital through thrift deposit and arranges credit for income generating activities for the individual households. For services, it contacts the Upazila level offices of the respective departments. Unlike the other three projects it has no structural linkage with the UP although informal linkage is maintained. Its unique feature lies in planning and implementation of village economic plans, pursuing increase in production, employment, income and social development.

Analysis of the projects reveals some commonalities and sort of emphasis in some areas but overriding importance of strengthening the capacity of UP to coordinate the extension and service delivery to the villagers by the NBD staff and NGOs was found to be the core issue. Only CVDP has not emphasised formal linkage with UP. Empowerment and capacity building of the stakeholders through training and orientation were recognised. Community approach of planning from the grassroots level, micro-infrastructure for community interests, open budget, implementation of projects by the people themselves, accountability, transparency are at the core of all the projects. Allocation of block grant directly to the UP came as a boon for undertaking and implementing participatory development projects.

A look at the salient features of the projects reveals that some high priority and best practices could be developed and some pertinent issues received limited attention in some projects resulting in lack of integration and some amount of shortage in comprehensive outlook, whereas, better picture could be forthcoming through buying of some of the best practices available in other projects. Time has come now to give an immediate attention to the projects in order to find out a well structured and well coordinated programme at the UP level, because the same ministry and the country cannot afford to implement four almost similar projects for the same objectives and at the same location. This should also consider the interface of UP with the decentralised Upazila Parishad (UZP) if formed in future. In the eighties the decentralised UZP made the UP almost perfunctory. One should not expect the repetition of the same situation.

UP's support to economic activities for production, employment and income generation in both farm and non-farm sector and above all for poverty reduction cannot be denied in any way. In that case UP has to have some linkage with village level organisations. Along with infrastructure plan UP should also make plan for economic development of the whole Union. Road infrastructure in the rural areas pays for undertaking income earning activities including production. Should we not give equal attention to small scale drainage, embankment and irrigation channel projects, bringing the cultivable land under direct fold of the farmers so that they can grow any crop any time they desire towards providing direct benefit to production and for maintenance of environment?

UPs could make five-year drainage, small scale embankment, irrigation and road plans under the Rural Works Programme and implemented the same in the sixties with support from one sub-assistant engineer at the Upazila. With the present necessity and future perspective UP is to have a wider view beyond road, school furniture and sanitation issues. This is not an imposition but a process of developing the awareness regarding the future priorities and development potentials.

Dr. Muhammad Solaiman is a freelance contributor.