The interim government has begun reshuffling the field administration before the national election likely to be held by next February before the month of Ramadan, the month of fasting for the Muslims.
As part of the reshuffling of the field administration, the public administration ministry on Monday appointed new deputy commissioners to six districts.
According to notifications issued by the ministry, three DCs were transferred to other districts, while three new officers at the rank of deputy secretary were appointed as DCs to three districts.
Deputy secretaries of environment, forest and climate change ministry Mohammad Shaheed Hossain Chowdhury was posted to Patuakhali as DC, while Abu Hasnat Mohammad Arefin, who was Patuakhali DC before Shaheed鈥檚 appointment, was transferred to Kushtia as deputy commissioner.
Sifat Mehnaj, who was serving as Meherpur DC, was transferred to Kurigram as DC and district magistrate, while Mohammad Abdul Salam, deputy secretary of the home affairs ministry, made DC of Meherpur.
The notifications also said Mohammad Abdullah Al Mahmood Zaman, deputy secretary and zonal settlement officer at land record and survey department, Dhaka, was appointed deputy commissioner of Netrakona and Md Towfiqur Rahman, who was DC of Kushtia, was posted to Khulna as DC and district magistrate.
Ministry officials said that more reshuffles were expected once the election schedule was announced and a DC fit list comprising qualified officers was prepared.
Although the national election may be held in February, the Election Commission has yet to confirm whether DCs will serve as returning officers this time.
Traditionally, DCs carry out the role of returning officers during general elections.
The interim government, which assumed office after the ouster of the authoritarian Awami League regime on August 5 past year, replaced the DCs appointed by the previous administration.
Currently, officers from the 24th, 25th and 27th BCS batches are serving as DCs. Among them, the 24th and 25th batch officers joined service during the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government (2001鈥�2006), while the 27th batch joined under the army-controlled caretaker government (2007鈥�2008).
Ministry officials also said that there was a policy decision to withdraw 24th batch officers and replace them with new DCs, alongside broader reshuffles in the other districts.
Discussions are ongoing about appointing some officers from the 28th BCS administration cadre to DC posts, and some have already been interviewed for the purpose.
