Nexus between E-Governance and Local Government in Providing Effective Public Service Delivery in Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh

Abstract In Bangladesh, the Upazila Parishad plays a significant role in providing necessary public services within its jurisdiction that directly affect the rural people's living standards. In terms of providing effective and efficient public service delivery at Upazila Parishad, e-governance plays a noteworthy role. In this light, the main goal of this study is to find out how e-governance and local government work together to make the Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh better at providing public services. The study was conducted following a qualitative approach. Besides, the research used a descriptive approach, whereas relevant data was collected from different secondary sources, including websites, books, journal articles, newspapers, reports, and so on. The findings of the study demonstrate the contributions of e-governance in providing quality services within Upazila Parishad. It was found that e-governance reduces bureaucratic delay while providing public services, ensuring the fair allocation of resources in public service delivery, proper monitoring of the activities and services provided by the Upazila Parishad, proper implementation of the citizen charter, and so on. Correspondingly, the study findings revealed different challenges, i.e., social and cultural constraints, political constraints, inadequate human resources, infrastructural development constraints, digital divide constraints, and public awareness issues while implementing e-governance in local government. However, the study also evaluated the relationship between e-governance and local government in delivering effective public service within the Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh. The study provides both theoretical and practical contributions to e-governance, local government, and public policy in Bangladesh. Finally, the study offers some policy recommendations to address the challenges associated with implementing e-governance within local government, i.e., Upazila Parishad in Bangladesh.