Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the importance of good governance for the country’s development.

“For the overall development, good governance is urgently needed. Law and order and everything else are related to this,” she said while inaugurating the deputy commissioners’ conference at the Prime Minister’s Office.

She asked the DCs to work for eradicating terrorism, drugs, corruption and other menaces.

Those who offer bribe and those who take it are equally guilty, she said. “If we work keeping this in mind, then it’ll be possible for us to get rid of this [bribery].”

The government is working tirelessly to develop the grassroots. “Our development is not for a handful of people… We’ve proven that it’s possible to develop the country if anyone wants to do so.”

Sometimes, people think that population is a burden, she said. “But I don’t consider it as burden. I think that if we can transform this population into a skilled workforce, then this population will become our main power.”

The PM then said the government was establishing some 100 economic zones across the country.

“All industrialisation will be done in these economic zones. There’ll be no scope for setting up industries indiscriminately…”

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain, PM’s Principal Secretary Md Nozibur Rahman and Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam also spoke at the event.

The annual conference is aimed at discussing policies and development strategies.

At least 24 working sessions will be held in the five-day conference. Some 333 proposals made by the DCs will be discussed this year.

PM’S 31-POINT DIRECTIVE TO DCS

1. Take necessary measures for celebrating the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 2020.

2. Celebrate golden jubilee of independence in 2021.

3. Make sure that people are not harassed while receiving government services.

4. Perform responsibilities more carefully and strictly to eliminate militancy, terrorism and communalism.

5. Take steps to continue the drives against drugs.

6. Develop rural infrastructure and flourish potential small and medium industries and alleviate poverty through generating employment.

7. Provide leadership for development and flourish ICT and encourage common people to use the ICT for daily needs.

8. Work with public representatives to establish good governance at the grassroots.

9. Increase female education rate at all levels, reduce dropouts and bring back the dropped-out students.

10. Protect government land by increasing transparency and efficiency in land administration and management.

11. Ensure smooth supply of fertilisers, seeds, electricity and fuel etc to boost agriculture.

12. Create mass awareness to prevent production, transportation and marketing of adulterated food and curb the unethical acts with iron hands.

13. Strengthen further the activities of the community clinics in order to ensure healthcare services for the poor and underprivileged communities.

14. Raise mass awareness about protecting the environment.

15. Make effective the village courts for providing justice to common people and reduce case backlogs at the courts.

16. Take the right step at right time to mitigate natural disasters as per the Disaster Management Law, 2012.

17. Make the committees headed by the DCs in the districts active, dynamic and fruitful.

18. Arrange Information Fair and observe Service Week to reach the existing services to the grassroots.

19. Take strict steps for maintaining peace in industrial zones and uninterrupted transportation of goods and export-import; eliminate muscle power, extortion, tender manipulation and terrorism.

20. Give importance to round-the-clock monitoring of the market, ensure consumer rights and thwart any efforts to create artificial crises in the market.

21. Combat social menaces like women and child repression and trafficking, dowry, eve-teasing and early marriage.

22. Ensure proper legal steps for stopping violence, torture and violent attitude towards women.

23. Ensure the scope of education, sports, entertainment and creative cultural activities for children and juveniles and awaken in them the spirit of the Liberation War and a sense of culture and science.

24. Take special measures for the welfare of people with disabilities and autism.

25. Accelerate the development of the hill districts, conserve the geo-natural characteristics, forests, rivers and water bodies, animal resources and the beauty. Flourish tourism and other small, medium and cottage industries.

26. Take steps for proper waste management at all levels.

27. Undertake development projects considering the size and location of each district.

28. Strengthen the local governance by decentralising power.

29. Build mini stadiums for entertainment and cultural activities.

30. Make arrangements for people’s entertainment and play a role in maintaining communal harmony. pay attention to improve the living standard of the ethnic minority groups, Hijras and Bede communities.

31. Rehabilitate of the landless, homeless and beggars.