This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the power decentralisation process at the local level in Bangladesh. More specifically, this paper intends to explore whether or not the much needed autonomy has been built into the decentralisation process. The paper is basically based on the review of secondary materials. However, efforts have been made to consult all the available local government commission reports. The study findings suggest that, despite having Constitutional recognition of the establishment of a strong and independent local government system, the political leadership of Bangladesh has initiated different reforms to bring changes to the structure of the Local Government Institutions (LGIs) in the name of decentralisation. However, the main intentions behind most of the reforms have been to strengthen their political base in the particular area. As a result, these institutions could not be established as a focal point of development where people would have the power to monitor and control their constituencies.

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The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, signed in 1997, promised to end a long-standing armed conflict and grant a host of benefits to the indigenous people occupying the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. After a decade the accord has yet to bear fruit; it remains unimplemented and the suffering, misery, subordination, and exploitation of the indigenous people continue. Our study reveals that the accord has failed to protect the indigenous communities from harassment and violence inflicted upon them by law enforcement agencies and Bangali settlers. Political instability and the lack of a firm political commitment have crippled the accord, thus the hopes and aspirations that accompanied it have withered. This has resulted in serious consequences for the indigenous people: intra-group rivalry and conflicts, fragmentation within the communities, a dwindling economy and stagnating social and human development due to the poor healthcare and education sectors. This paper describes the political situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts before and after the accord was signed, the political and social ills and suffering it promised to resolve, and concludes by outlining a possible way forward.

This paper is intended to shed some light on the development of urban governance in Bangladesh by highlighting the issue of coordination. It addresses the question of whether there is any mechanism through which urban government bodies can ensure coordination on matters of dispute between different government organisations. The paper is based on a review of secondary literature as well as on primary data drawn from a case study on a city corporation. The available data substantiates the view that the process of urban service delivery in Bangladesh has lacked proper coordination mechanisms from its very inception. Successive governments since the independence of Bangladesh have experimented with the structural design of urban government bodies without considering the need for a proper mechanism to ensure sound coordination among actors involved in implementing the various policies of these bodies. Although an attempt was made by the then Awami League 1 (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) government to establish a highpowered coordination committee under the chairmanship of the minister in charge of the Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives (LGRD&C) Ministry for each city corporation, in order to ensure better management of services and to settle disputes between various government agencies, the initiative was perverted upon the change of state power in 2001. As a result, these bodies continue to suffer from problems of coordination.