Administration reforms: Zila parishad’s abolition may be proposed

The Public Administration Reform Commission is likely to recommend abolishing the zila parishad and strengthening the upazila parishad.
The commission may make the recommendation as the deputy commissioners' offices and the zila parishads do not cooperate and coordinate in their tasks, said multiple sources in the reform commission.
Besides, the tasks done by the zila parishads can be done by the offices of the deputy commissioners and others, they added.

To empower the upazila parishad, the reform commission may propose doing away with a legal provision that allows lawmakers to "interfere" in the upazila parishads as advisers.
It may propose appointing an officer of the rank of senior assistant secretary to the upazila parishad.
The Upazila Nirbahi Officer's office will deal with law and order, disaster management, public examinations, and mobile courts while the upazila parishad will handle development programmes, secondary education, NGOs, cooperatives and some other matters.
The reform commission members believe that these steps would put an end to the tension between UNOs and upazila chairmen.
However, some experts say this proposal may conflict with Article 59(1) of the constitution which states that elected representatives should be entrusted with the governance of every administrative unit of the republic.
Besides, some may ask why zila parishad should be abolished while upazila parishad remains.
Additionally, the commission is likely to propose discontinuing direct elections for upazila chairman. The proposal may include the abolition of the two vice-chairman positions in upazila parishads.
Currently, a single Circle assistant superintendent of police (ASP) is responsible for overseeing two to three upazilas. The commission may recommend appointing one Circle ASP for each upazila.
NO CAR LOANS
The administration reform commission is set to recommend scrapping the interest-free car loans and car maintenance allowances for deputy secretaries and higher officers.
Officers of the ranks of deputy secretary and above currently get a loan of Tk 30 lakh to buy a car and a monthly allowance of Tk 50,000 to hire a chauffeur and bear the maintenance costs.
Members of the Commission want to end the benefits to save large sums of taxpayer money and because these are "discriminatory to officers who are not in the administration", said a source with knowledge of the development.
The car loan for admin officers was introduced in 2017. Officials of the 25 other cadres have since been demanding similar privileges.
According to the sources, most of the 11 members of the reform commission agree that the car loans are unacceptable. However, they will decide today whether to propose ending it.
The commission may also recommend abolishing supernumerary promotions, which means an officer gets promoted even if there is no vacant post for such an officer.
The reform commission headed by former secretary Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury will hand over the recommendations to the chief adviser on February 5.
The proposal may include forming two separate commissions for recruitment and promotion in the education and health cadres, said three officials with knowledge of the matter.
Since 2007, the judiciary has had the Judicial Service Commission which oversees hiring and promotions of lower court judges.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a commission member said, "This commission formed in the wake of a mass uprising is not acting in favour of any particular group. Our primary focus is to ensure that public interests are protected so that future generations cannot call us biased."
Non-administration cadre officials have been lobbying for years for supernumerary promotions similar to those enjoyed by administration cadre officials.
After the fall of the Hasina government on August 5, many promotions were granted to deputy secretaries, joint secretaries, and additional secretaries. In response, officials from 25 other cadres are demanding such promotions.
Currently, the total number of positions across 26 cadres stands at approximately 60,000, with around 50,000 positions belonging to the education and health cadres. As a result, recommendations have been made to classify these two cadres as separate services.
There is also a proposal to merge the existing 26 cadres into 12–13 distinct services. Under this restructuring, the Administration Cadre may be merged with the Food (General) and Cooperative Cadres to form the Bangladesh Administrative Service.
Similarly, the Trade, Customs, and Tax Cadres could be combined to create a Revenue Service. Various engineering-related cadres, such as Roads and Highways, Public Works, Radio Engineering, and Railway Engineering, might be consolidated into a single Engineering Service.
The Information Cadre, which currently has four divisions, may also undergo restructuring. The Information (Radio), Information (News), and Information (Program Organizer) divisions could be merged into the Bangladesh Information Service, while the Information (Radio Engineering) division may be incorporated into the Engineering Service.
Additionally, officials from the Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry Cadres could be grouped under a single service, and a new service dedicated to Information Technology is also under consideration.
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