Water Development Board: Govt plans to upgrade it
The government is looking to upgrade the Bangladesh Water Development Board to the Directorate of Water Resources in which non-engineers will not be absorbed as cadres, said officials from the general category.
With an aim to conserve and better manage the country’s water resources, the government formulated a draft law -- the Bangladesh Water Resources Development and Management Act 2019 -- and uploaded it to the Ministry of Water Resource’s website on December 1, seeking public opinion on the draft.
In an initial response, several serving non-engineers (general category officials) said that although they would have to play an important role in the new directorate, they were being deprived from the upgradation process.
The first draft, uploaded on the website on November 28, stated that both the general officials and engineers would be absorbed as cadres.
But within three days, a new draft was uploaded, which said the non-engineer general category first class government officers (grade nine) were excluded.
“If the provision for general cadre is not mentioned in the draft law, then we would not be considered while officials of the board are absorbed as cadres,” said an official working under WDB, wishing anonymity.
“But different general category officials working with the WDB play an important role and have the qualifications to be absorbed as cadres.”
Apart from engineers, professionals like agriculturalists, soil scientists, geologists, economists, environmentalists, fisheries experts, accountants have been working ever since the formation of WDB.
A candidate has to have the same qualification as a Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) applicant for those first-class posts and they get appointment under the ninth grade.
“Being absorbed as a cadre is not about getting monetary benefits, but rather about dignity,” the official added.
As per Section 7(a) of the draft law, the new directorate will have jurisdiction over the construction of dams, barrages and other structures for river management, flood protection and drought control.
It will also be responsible for dredging of the rivers and canals, irrigation, fish cultivation, conservation of aquatic animals, afforestation for conservation of wildlife, protecting human habitations and establishments from river erosions and protection of the environment and ecology.
Section 7 (b) mentions other activities of the directorate, including flood and drought forecasts, surveys, research and knowledge discrimination of water related works, ensure participation of local people in different projects, make independent proposals for land acquisition and rehabilitation of affected people, conduct impact assessment work on agriculture, environment, water transport, fisheries and human habitation due to any certain project.
The contribution of officials in both the engineering and general categories are required with equal importance for these tasks.
When asked about the issue, Kabir Bin Anwar, secretary for the ministry of Water Resources, said, they were upgrading the WDB to Directorate of Water Resources as they need to enhance the capability of the agency to implement the Delta Plan 2100 (BDP 2100).
The government approved the BDP 2100 on September 4, 2018, with the aspiration of achieving a safe, climate resilient and prosperous delta by 2100.
The formation process of the Directorate of Water Resources is in its initial stages and it has not yet been decided who would be included in the cadre services.
“It is too early to comment on the cadre service as it is just a draft law and will take at least six months to finalise. I do not think those officials have anything to worry about yet.”
The government agency responsible for surface water and groundwater management was established in 1972, when the then Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority was broken down into two parts -- WDB and Bangladesh Power Development Board.
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