Such locally elected bodies have been formed, but they have been kept non-functional as controversy has arisen over the Government’s decision to retain central control over local affairs by granting power to the members of the parliament to interfere in local level development activities, which the elected local leaders are not ready to accept. To empower the lawmakers to intervene in the functioning of the newly elected upazila parishads (councils), the parliament also recently passed the Upazila Parishad Act of 2009. Thus, visionary local leadership is still far from a reality in Bangladesh.