16 May 2010
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The Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs
Prior to the CHT PA (1997) the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) governed the region under a special affairs division of the Office of the Prime Minister until 29th June 2000 when, in accord with the provisions of the CHT PA, a specific government ministry was inaugurated, this being known as the Ministry of Hill Tracts Affairs (MoCHTA). In order to attain legitimacy and legality for the ministry the Rules of Business (1996) covering the aforementioned division were amended by a Cabinet Division Notification of the same year.
The rules of business, commonly referred to as “mandate / regulations / or functions” indicate that the Ministry has quite an awe-inspiring set of responsibilities when compared to other GoB line ministries, in that it has an over-arching task of governance within the CHT combining such activities which are nominally covered in the plain lands by numerous centralised independent line ministries and associated departments, examples being: -
1. Development planning
2. Regulatory advice to CHT authorities
3. Relief and rehabilitation
4. Observation and monitoring of the NGO sector
As is illustrated by the above list, which is not exhaustive, separate GoB Ministries nominally carry out many of these mentioned duties, for example relief and rehabilitation is coordinated in the plains under the auspices of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR).
Thus, as can be appreciated, given its unique responsibility in terms of regional governance (which is not exercised anywhere else in Bangladesh), the Ministry has to provide a series of services, as a self-contained bureau within central government structure, which in real terms possibly exceeds it present and more than likely its future capabilities.
The Ministry is additionally entrusted to provide a crosscutting function in relation to other line ministries, providing a linking mechanism to ensure efficient and effective socio-economic promotion of the region, however it can be seen to lack the overriding authority and conviction of status to fruitfully operate within this capacity. This is especially being propagated by the non-appointment of a full cabinet Minister to MoCHTA since the last national elections in 2001.
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