Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Minister Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir announced on Tuesday that the countrywide local government elections, to be held in phases, may begin in September or October this year following the end of the monsoon season.

The minister stated that the government plans to complete elections to all tiers of local government bodies within the next year. He was replying to a question from ruling party lawmaker Md Mustafizur Rahman Babul (Jamalpur-3) during a question-answer session in Parliament, with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad in the chair.

Mirza Fakhrul explained that elections to Union Parishads, municipalities, Upazila Parishads, Zila Parishads, and city corporations will be held gradually, subject to the availability of budgetary allocations.

“The Union Parishad elections may be held first, followed by elections to other local government institutions in phases,” he said.

The minister also noted that elections to all 13 city corporations, including the newly established Bogura City Corporation, are expected to be completed within the same timeframe.

Replying to another question from ruling party MP Mohammad Shamim Kaiser, the local government minister said the Local Government Division has already allocated BDT 6 lakh to each Upazila Parishad to construct an inspection room within the Parishad premises for lawmakers and senior government officials.

Responding to a query from reserved seat MP Nilufar Chowdhury Moni, the minister detailed the capital's water dynamics.

He stated that the daily water demand in Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) and Dhaka South City Corporation currently stands at 3.2 to 3.25 billion litres, with fluctuations during the summer and winter seasons.

In contrast, the present daily water production capacity of the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) is around 2.95 to 3.0 billion litres.

He assured the House that water is treated using advanced chemicals—including PAC, alum sulphate, and chlorination—and is supplied through the network only after quality testing in WASA laboratories in line with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

He added that Dhaka WASA collects 40 to 50 water samples daily from different parts of the city and tests them against various parameters to ensure quality standards.

In response to a question from reserved seat MP Selima Rahman, Mirza Fakhrul addressed waste management, stating that household waste collection in the DNCC areas is currently carried out by private operators who transport waste by vans to secondary transfer stations.

He said efforts are underway to bring these operators under formal contracts with the city corporation.

Once this contracting process is completed, the use of smaller covered vans for environment-friendly waste transportation will be considered.

Finally, replying to a question from reserved seat MP Nipun Roy Chowdhury, the minister revealed that the government has taken steps to develop Version-2 of the Birth and Death Registration software.

The upgraded system will include online payment facilities and blockchain-based tracking features, enabling authorities to identify any changes made to records and determine exactly at which level such modifications occurred, he explained.

Mirza Fakhrul also noted that regular training is being provided for registrars and registration assistants across the country to simplify services and reduce public inconvenience.