Field Administration, Police: Big changes on cards with polls in mind

A major reshuffle in the administration and police at the field-level is on the cards in the coming weeks. Many consider it a significant move as the next general election will be held under the supervision of DCs and SPs.

The reshuffle will take place mainly in the ranks of deputy commissioner (DC) and superintendent of police (SP).

Besides, there will be many big changes in the police department, according to sources in the public administration and home ministries.

DCs and SPs are posted in a district for around three years before they are transferred. During elections, the DCs act as Returning Officers while SPs discharge their duties to maintain the law and order situation in their respective districts.

The government wants to post the new DCs and SPs soon because unless they are familiar with the areas where they will work, they won't be able to play the vital role in conducting the election, said sources.

The reshuffle in the police department will see the in-situ promotion (officials who hold the same office and discharge the same duty after elevation) of 720 top-ranking police officials.

The police headquarters (PHQ) has already sent a proposal to the home ministry to that end. Upon receiving the proposal, the home ministry has formed a committee to evaluate it.

With the US announcing its new visa policy, the government wants to bring in police officials with a clean image, highly placed sources in the home Ministry and PHQ told The Daily Star.

According to the proposal, the PHQ seeks promotions for 16 additional inspectors general of police (Grade-II) from the 15th BCS batch to the rank of additional IGP (Grade-I).

If the proposal is approved, six additional IGP ranking officials will get in-situ postings at the PHQ, and the 10 additional IGP ranking officials will be posted at the CID, Police Telecom, Railway and Highway Police, PBI, Industrial Police, Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU), Sarda Police Academy, Police Staff College, and Armed Police Battalion.

The PHQ also seeks in-situ promotion for 34 deputy IGPs from the 17th BCS batch to the rank of additional IGP, for 157 additional DIGs from the 22nd batch to the rank of DIG, for 266 SP ranking officers from the 24th batch to the rank of additional DIG, and for 247 additional SPs from the 28th and 29th batches to the rank of SP, reads the proposal.

Once the promotions are given, an additional cost of around Tk 2.33 crore will be required per year, the proposal says.

Of the 34 additional IGP (Grade-II), 14 will get in-situ postings at the PHQ, five at the DMP, four at the special branch, two at police telecom, four each at four police training centres (Tangail, Rangpur, Noakhali, and Khulna), and five additional IGPs each will be posted at Sarda Police Academy, Police Staff College, CMP, Khulna Metropolitan Police and Police Hospital.

As part of the in-situ promotions, at least 10 DIG ranking officials are supposed to get regular promotions.

In the bureaucratic ranks, there has already been a move to promote the 22nd batch cadres, who are now deputy secretaries, to the joint secretary rank. Superior Selection Board (SSB), an administrative body under the public administration ministry that scrutinises the service records of public servants and recommends them for promotion to higher positions, held a meeting in this regard on Thursday. Sources in the ministry said the promotions might be made effective by July.

The government will post around 25 new DCs withdrawing 20 to 22 DCs as most of them have already completed their tenure. Two to three DCs will likely be transferred, said sources.

Most of the DCs will be posted from the 27th batch, whose recruitments were made during the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker government and appointments were made during the Awami League-led government in 2009.

Some of the DCs will be posted from the 25th batch, said sources. 15 public servants already posted as DCs are from the 25th batch.

Currently, out of 64 districts, 20 DCs are from the 22nd batch, 29 from the 24th batch and 15 from the 25th batch. DCs from the 22nd batch completed their tenure as DCs.

On May 12, the government promoted 114 joint secretaries to the rank of additional secretary. With that promotion, the total number of additional secretaries stands at 420. Besides, two officers were also promoted to Grade-I.

Most of the promoted officers were from the 17th batch. However, a few of them were from the 15th and some other batches who were left out from the earlier promotion list.

Earlier in April 2022, a total of 94 joint secretaries were promoted to the rank of additional secretary. They were from the 15th and some other batches who also were left out from the promotion list.

Contacted, Md Kamrul Ahsan, additional inspector general (admin) of police headquarters, told The Daily Star yesterday that they sent the proposal for the in-situ promotion of officials and it is now pending with the home ministry.

Asked about the reshuffle, he said that it is a regular process. "Reshuffle will be done following proper procedure," he added.

The Daily Star tried to contact State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain and Mohammed Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, the ministry's senior secretary, several times, but they could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.

Meanwhile, the Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) already got a new commissioner on May 31 while the Rangpur Metropolitan Police will get a new commissioner soon.

Earlier, on August 3 last year, forty districts got new SPs.

A new list for some 20 to 25 SPs has already been finalised for new posting. The officers from the 25th and 27th batches will get priority for posting, a high PHQ official said.

Recruitment of the 25th batch was made during the BNP-led four party coalition government in 2006.

If the reshuffle is carried out, at least half a dozen SPs will be replaced by the new posts, said sources in the PHQ.

Besides, the PHQ is carefully monitoring some police officers from the 24th and 25th batches, mainly serving as SPs, and some others serving as additional DIGs, as they were found to have links to the BNP.