Staff Correspondent

Officials failing to ensure proper waste management and civic services in municipalities across the country will face immediate suspension, warned State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Meer Shahe Alam on Wednesday. 

He cautioned that departmental and administrative actions would be taken against officials of municipalities that fail to implement modern waste management systems and environmentally sustainable initiatives.

The state minister was speaking as the chief guest at a national workshop organized by the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) in Dhaka. Senior Secretary of the Local Government Division Md Shahidul Hasan presided over the event.

Highlighting major urban management challenges, Meer Shahe Alam noted that while waste management is a primary municipal function, most municipalities still lack designated landfills. Dumping waste in open spaces undermines the objectives of urban master plans and poses serious public health risks.

He instructed authorities to expedite the construction of modern landfills equipped with boundary walls and manholes, enabling the generation of electricity and organic fertilizer through advanced technologies.

The minister expressed sharp displeasure over the absence of a large number of officials at such an important workshop.

"The government spent a substantial amount of money to organize this event. Yet, out of 61 municipalities, 17 administrators and 19 chief executive officers are absent. Such negligence undermines the core objective of this seminar," he remarked, though he appreciated the strong presence of engineers.

Addressing past irregularities, he said that political influence had previously led to anomalies in preparing municipal master plans, depriving many eligible municipalities. He emphasized that district-level and 'Category-A' municipalities should have been prioritized from the outset.

Warning against administrative harassment in issuing birth and death certificates and other public services, the minister declared a "zero-tolerance" policy. 

Outlining social safety initiatives, he announced that "Family Cards" will be distributed to household heads across 4 crore families over the next four years. This year alone, 41 lakh women will benefit under a Tk 13,000-crore allocation.

Senior officials of the Local Government Division, executive engineers of LGED, faculty members from urban and regional planning departments of various universities, and municipal administrators attended the event.