The government wants to ensure balanced development across all 503 upazilas of the country, prioritising the interests of people in every area regardless of political affiliation or region, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan said on Saturday.

“No upazila should receive facilities that people in neighbouring upazilas are deprived of,” he said, stressing that an elected government has a responsibility to implement development programmes in the interests of people across all areas.

He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a discussion titled “Formulating Strategies for Solar Power Installation in Urban and Rural Areas through Cooperative Societies” at the Multipurpose Hall of the Cooperative Bhaban in Agargaon, organised by the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division.

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam attended the programme.

Moyeen Khan said government officials were not merely employees but were engaged in serving the country's 180 million people. The government had considered properly evaluating their work and adjusting salaries and allowances in line with the cost of living, he said.

Although limited resources made it impossible to implement everything at once, the government would try to introduce the measures gradually over the next few years, he added. He also said the issue of adjusting government officials' salaries annually in line with inflation had been raised by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman in a Cabinet meeting.

Emphasising the role of government officials in implementing development plans at the grassroots level, the minister said elected representatives and officials must ensure that ordinary people benefit from all government activities. They must also play an effective role in implementing the prime minister's grassroots-focused development plans.

Highlighting the potential of solar power, Moyeen Khan said the use of renewable energy must be expanded as conventional energy resources were becoming limited. Proper utilisation of solar energy would benefit people, reduce costs and help improve their living standards, he said, urging officials concerned to work responsibly to achieve the government's plans and targets.

On strengthening institutional capacity in the rural development and cooperatives sector, the minister said the government would consider making the administrative structures, scope of work and facilities of relevant institutions more effective. Proposals raised by officials, including upgrading the Rural Development Board to a directorate, would be reviewed seriously, he added.

The minister said increasing the number of registered cooperative societies alone was not enough; they must also become functional and work for public welfare. Noting that the country currently had around 250,000 registered cooperative societies, he stressed the need to ensure their actual effectiveness.

Speaking as a special guest, State Minister Mir Shahe Alam expressed optimism that solar power generation would soon turn into a social movement.

He said decisions had already been taken to install solar panels on the rooftops of educational institutions under the Education Ministry and institutions and marketplaces under the Local Government Ministry. Installing solar panels through cooperative societies under the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division would also help address the country's temporary electricity shortage, he added.

The state minister instructed cooperative and rural development officials to encourage rural people to generate solar power and provide them with necessary support. He also said Tk 390 crore had already been released to local government institutions for installing solar panels and procuring related services.

Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Secretary Dr Rafiqul I Mohamed presided over the programme, which was attended by officials and employees of the ministry and its departments.