A meeting of the local government ministry on Monday approved a budget of around Tk 300 crore for district councils for the 2009-10 financial year.

"Only development-oriented projects will not suffice, initiatives must be taken to formulate and implement welfare-oriented projects as well," Jahangir Kabir Nanak, state minister for local government and rural development told reporters following the meeting. The chief executive officers of 61 district councils and their secretaries attended the meeting.

Nanak asked the officials to work as a bridge between the government and the people and blamed them for failing to adequately supervise projects under their purview in the past. "This practice will end, now the administration is functioning properly," said Nanak. Also present at the meeting were additional-secretary of the ministry, Syed Mahbub Zaman, and joint-secretary Prasanta Bhusan Barua.