Bangladesh, Nov. 9 -- Weak community-level oversight, growing rural security concerns and gaps in monitoring development projects have prompted the government to move towards reviving Gram Sarkar, a grassroots local government structure first introduced in 1980, to strengthen public participation in rural administration.
The proposed body is expected to play a role in maintaining law and order, resolving local disputes through arbitration, preventing crime and monitoring development activities at the village level.
Under the draft Gram Sarkar Act 2026, each of the 41,112 wards under 4,568 unions across the country will have a 17-member body comprising elected representatives, according to officials of the Local Government Division (LGD)....