Non-governmental organisations in Bangladesh - An assessment of their legal status

Despite multiple efforts, the amount of poverty in Bangladesh has remained alarmingly high by any standard. Two salient characteristics of the efforts to alleviate poverty in Bangladesh are the difficulty poor people experien ce in taking advantage of them, and the lack of coordination between the go vernment and the non-government organisations (NGOs). When the state alone is unable to combat poverty then the NGOs come into the picture to fill the void. First Britain as a colonial power, then the East Pakistan Government and the Government of Bangladesh have promulgated ordinances and regulatio ns for the practical regulation of the NGOs, but their loopholes and flaws have given the NGOs opportunities to violate them. A better situation could be achieved by modifying then strictly implementing the state rules, ensur ing accountability, effective state control and a meaningful NGO-state coll aboration and cooperation.