Dhaka, Feb. 20 -- Local Government Reform Commission head Tofail Ahmed has opposed the proposal from the Public Administration Reform Commission to provincialise four old districts and abolish the district councils.

"I am not in favour of forming provinces, and district councils cannot be abolished. They must be strengthened," he said on Thursday.

Tofail was speaking as the chief guest at a national dialogue titled "Democratic Decentralisation and Local Government in the Light of Public Aspirations" at Dhaka's Agargaon.

The event was organised by the Governance Advocacy Forum, or GAF, and the United Nations Development Programme, or UNDP.

Tofail said, "District councils will not remain as they are now. There will be room for public pa...