The government under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is working to establish multidimensional rural development and cooperatives in the country aimed at poverty alleviation.
For this reason, the government is implementing various flagship programmes for advancement and skill development of the rural people.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD Ministry) is implementing the majority of the programmes, while the ministry is planning to promote and inspire more people who work for the development in rural areas and for the betterment of rural people.
As part of the plan, the ministry has taken an initiative to update the ‘National Rural Development Award Policy-2012’. According to sources of the ministry, the fresh policy will come into effect as soon as possible as a draft of the ‘National Rural Development Award Policy-2021’ has already been prepared by the ministry.
Kazi Moshtaque Zahir, Deputy Secretary of Rural Development & Cooperative Division of the LGRD Ministry, told Bangladesh Post that they have drafted the ‘National Rural Development Award Policy-2021’ aiming to encourage the development of the local government bodies, organisations working in the rural areas and individuals who work for rural development or are involved in the rural development. A meeting on the draft policy will be held on May 27 at the conference room of the Rural Development & Cooperative Division with secretary of the division Md Rezaul Ahsan in the chair. The amendment to the policy will be finalised after completing some other necessary processes, he added.
He said that the government has laid utmost emphasis on poverty alleviation. The overall development of Bangladesh, including the poverty alleviation, is closely linked with rural development. So, the ‘National Rural Development Policy’ was formulated in order to achieve comprehensive village development of the country. If the people and organisations who work for rural development are inspired and rewarded, more development will take place in rural Bangladesh. So, the award policy is being updated as per the National Rural Development Policy, said the Deputy Secretary.
Appreciating the move, an NGO activist said that if the people involved in rural development are rewarded, they do not lose their enthusiasm and interest while many others will be inspired for rural development.
It can be mentioned that the government has taken steps so that people living in rural areas can earn their livelihood from there. So, the government is planning to provide all urban facilities to rural areas so that people living in villages can enjoy a better and more decent life.
The LGRD Ministry’s move to amend the ‘National Rural Development Award Policy-2012’ will play an important role in this regard.