Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs

Institutional Setting

The special position of the CHT within Bangladesh

Historically, the CHT has had a special position in the governance system of Bangladesh.  The process of incorporation of the CHT started in the 19^th century and was formalised in Act no. 1, 1900, (also known as the CHT Manual) dealing with law and order, control, judiciary powers, policing powers, allotment of lands, levies and taxation. Under the Act, administrative power is held by the Commissioner in Chittagong, but in the course of time some of these were delegated to Deputy Commissioners, located in the districts. Parallel powers of administration were given to the Department of Forests, as confirmed in the Forestry Act of 1927. Local law and order remained the domain of the Circles in Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagranchari respectively.

The move towards local government in Bangladesh in the 1980’s and the negotiations carried out between the Government of Bangladesh and the local groups protesting against the flooding of river valleys and the arrival of a large number of Bengali settlers resulted in 1989 in the establishment of local government Councils, which were empowered with many of the tasks delegated from the Commissioner to the Deputy Commissioners.

In 1997 the system was revised as a consequence of the CHT Peace Accord. Also, a CHT Regional Council was established charged with overall supervision and co-ordination of all development activities of regional and local agencies. At the national level a new co-ordinating instrument was created in the form of the Ministry of CHT Affairs, headed by a Minister of CHT indigenous origin.

CHT Government Administrative System

The Government administrative system in the Chittagong Hill Tracts is different from other parts of Bangladesh.  At present there are three different systems in the CHT:   the central government's administrative system; the self rule government initially formed in the 1989 Hill District Council Act and revised in the Peace Accord of 1997; and the traditional administrative system of Circle Chiefs and Headmen.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts is divided into three administrative districts.  The general administrative system of the central government in the CHT is represented by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner at the District Level and the local government bodies are the Regional Council, the Hill District Councils, the Upazila Parishad, Union Parishad and Pourasova.  The Pourasova is the local government institution for municipalities. The Union Parishad is the lowest tier under the general administrative system and is responsible for a number of Paras or villages.

CHT Specific Governance System

As part of the Peace Accord in 1997 a decentralised Local Government system has been established, with responsibilities for the management of public services delegated to the Regional Council and three Hill District Councils.

The Ministry of CHT Affairs (MoCHTA), which was also created as a result of the peace accord and headed by an indigenous Minister, is responsible for overseeing all activities in the CHT and recommends the staffing for the Regional Council and three Hill District Councils.

The CHT Regional Council was established by an Act of Parliament passed in May 1998 (Act no 12 of 1998) and was set up in appreciation of the fact that special arrangements are essential for the under-developed region and it was necessary to expedite the process of political, social, cultural, educational and economic development and to uphold the socio-political rights of all people of the CHT regions including the tribal inhabitants. Furthermore, it was desirable and essential to establish, as part of the implementation of the Agreement, a regional council for the purpose of co-ordination of the activities of the three Hill District Councils and for performing other related activities.

The functions of the Regional Council are overall supervision and co-ordination of all development activities carried out by the Hill District Councils and other affairs vested in the District Councils, local councils including municipalities, CHT Development Board and supervision and co-ordination of general administration, law and order and development activities in the Hill Districts.

The Regional Council can form committees to assist it in its functions and decide on the number of members, terms of reference and procedures of business of such committees.

The Act provided for a Chief Executive Officer for the Regional Council who is of the rank and status of Joint Secretary of the Government. For posting in this position preference shall be given to officers from tribal groups. The Council can create posts of officers and other staff with approval of the Government.

For managing the affairs of the Council till the elected Regional Council is formed, an interim arrangement has been made as per the provision of the Act. The Government has nominated the Chairman and other members of the Council. The Chairman of the PCJSS currently heads the Council. This interim Council is now carrying out the functions of the regional body.

The Hill District Councils recruit 3^rd and 4^th class employees of the transferred departments.  Officers of the transferred departments are appointed by the concerned Ministry.  All departmental staff report to departmental heads.  The departmental heads report to the Hill District Council Chairman. As per the Hill District Council Acts of 1989 (as amended after the 1997 CHT Peace Accord), a total of 33 subjects are supposed to be transferred from the Ministries to the each of the three Hill District Councils.  Of these, more than half have been transferred including health and education. However, some subjects of concern to this project such as forestry, land administration, and local police have not yet been transferred. The Hill District Councils may formulate and implement development plans on the subjects transferred to them but are largely dependent on funds provided by the central government and have limited capacity to raise their own revenue.  In the transferred subjects, the concerned Ministries or Departments are to implement all development works undertaken by the Government through the Hill District Councils.

Traditional Governance System

Alongside the central government administrative system and Local Government systems, the CHT practices a traditional system based on customs and practices of the indigenous peoples.  Although this traditional system has been in place for hundreds of years, the administrative areas in existence today, known as ‘Circles’ were not formally constituted until the CHT Regulation of 1900.

There are three administrative Circles in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (Mong, Chakma and Bohmong) each with their own Chief or Raja.  The administrative areas of the Mong, Chakma and Bohmong Chiefs broadly correspond to the decentralised Local Government administrative areas of Khagrachari, Rangamati and Bandarban Hill Districts.  The Circle Chiefs are members of their relevant Hill District Council(s) and are engaged in other formal Governance networks.

Headmen are appointed by the Deputy Commissioners on recommendation from the Circle Chiefs and Karbaris are appointed by the Circle Chiefs. In rare instances where there are disputes, headmen may be selected by popular election. Headman (who may also be a woman) is the traditional leader of a Mouza – an area which constitutes several Paras (village) and Karbari is the leader of a Para (village). Headman and Karbari are considered ‘learned persons’ within the community with responsibilities for maintaining social law and order, revenue collection and land use registration of their communities.

Upazila Parishad (Council)

In the local government system of Bangladesh the Upazila Parishad, previously known as Thana Council, has played a very important role in development administration. Development of physical infrastructure through what was previously known as the Rural Public Works Program, Planning and execution of irrigation schemes were effectively promoted by the Upazila Parishads. Co-ordination of development activities of the government agencies has been a very important function of these units. For the people in rural areas the Upazila (sub-district) administrative unit is the nearest meeting point to the Government and the administration. All Government development agencies have their functionaries at this level. Taken together, the Upazila Government offices virtually constitute a Secretariat where people can go with their problems for redress.

Union Parishad (Council)

The UP is the lowest level of local Government. There are 111 UP’s in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A UP consists of a Chairman and 12 elected members, including 3 seats exclusively reserved for women. The UP has 11 main administrative and developmental tasks. In addition they have been assigned 38 more optional ones in various sectors. With proper planning, financial resources as may be required and support of the Upazila Parishads they can play a vital role in community development.