District Commissioner appointed without field administration experience!

Golam Md. Baten, an officer of the 28th BCS Economic Cadre (now Administration), began his career in 2010 as an Assistant Chief at the Planning Commission. Although the Economic Cadre was merged into the Administration Cadre in November 2018, he continued in the same post until February 2020. He has virtually no experience working in field administration as an Assistant Commissioner (Land).

His only field experience is serving as an Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) for one year and two months. In a late-night notification issued on Saturday, he was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Satkhira. Generally, officers appointed to this post have at least five years of field administrative experience. The midnight announcement of the order has sparked murmurs within the administration, as many questioned whether issuing it in the morning would have made any difference.

Administrative expert Md. Firoz Mia commented that a free and fair election cannot be ensured through an inexperienced field administrator. Speaking to the media, he said, “I do not know on what grounds the government appointed such an officer as DC. Without experience in fieldwork and election management, this decision could be risky. With a tough election ahead, officers must establish a positive image in their assigned districts; otherwise, they may face difficulties.”

He further said, “The government’s decision to exclude officers who served during the past three elections may not be effective. In elections, the most influential figures are the presiding and polling officers, as well as the law enforcement personnel in charge of security. Unless they are also replaced, changing only the returning officers will bring little benefit.”

Among the newly appointed DCs, Sandwip Kumar Singh from the 25th BCS batch has been made DC of Barguna. He served as the UNO and Assistant Returning Officer during the controversial 2014 election and currently faces a corruption case under the Anti-Corruption Commission. Reports suggest that he was once involved in student politics with the ruling party. His appointment has stirred strong reactions within the administration.

Similarly, Miz Lutfun Nahar, appointed as DC of Meherpur, served as an Assistant Returning Officer in the 2018 election. Sandwip Kumar Singh admitted to his 2014 election role, saying, “The authorities appointed me with full knowledge of that fact.”

The government had announced that officials involved in the last three general elections would not be kept in field administration. However, the new notification reassigned six existing DCs to larger districts, four of whom had served in the 2014 election.

According to sources, only 20 of the 160 officers from the 28th BCS batch were initially shortlisted for the DC post. However, most were not appointed due to their previous election duties. On Saturday night, four officers from this batch, along with 11 others, were appointed as DCs in 15 districts. Six DCs were transferred, and nine new officers were assigned.

A senior official from the Ministry of Public Administration told the media that to ensure transparency in the upcoming election, officers involved in past elections were being excluded. However, in reality, very few officers from the 2018 election did not serve as Assistant Returning Officers.

The source added that although officers from the 28th and 29th BCS batches are now eligible for DC positions, many lack at least two years of field administrative experience. Consequently, they are being excluded. Currently, 196 officers from the 28th batch and 198 from the 29th batch are in service. They claim that the government should have removed only those involved in controversial activities, not an entire batch. They further argue that bypassing the 28th batch and inviting the 29th for the fit list is unprecedented. Such a move, they fear, will disrupt the administrative chain of command and create long-term instability.

Khaborwala/TSN