The status of the chiefs of all departments and directorates under different ministries and divisions is going to be raised to Grade-1 (secretary level) for posting the surplus 130 officials, out of a total of 110 posts of additional secretary, in the civil bureaucracy.

In the first phase, at least 30 director-generals (DGs) and chairs of different departments and directorates, having countrywide network, will be upgraded to grade-1 (secretary level), within a shortest possible time, according to sources in the public administration ministry.
To upgrade the posts, the public administration ministry is preparing a proposal, which would be sent to the Prime Minister's Office for approval, added the sources.
According to the sources, on August 26, in a meeting with the Prime Minister, some top officials discussed the matter and the Premier gave her consent, to upgrade the posts of some directorates under different ministries and the divisions.
Cabinet secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told The Independent that the government was in the process of upgrading the posts in different departments and directorates to grade-1, to make the administration reach 21st Century standards.
"The range of activities of most of the departments and directorates has expanded over the years. If we upgrade the posts of the chiefs of the offices, it will add a new dimension to their work, facilitating better public service," he said.
"This upgrading would not come in the way of the secretaries' work and status. This is because their work carries the status of their posts and importance," the cabinet secretary added.
He also informed that the government had no plan to create more than one post of secretary, in the ministries and divisions.
Senior secretary of public administration ministry, Abdus Sobhan Sikdar, told The Independent that the plan was to upgrade at least 30 posts of chiefs of different departments and directorates, who were working across the country.
"It will provide more status and money, in terms of salary, if we upgrade the posts,"
he said.
He also informed that the government was preparing a proposal in this regard, and it would be sent to the Prime Minister's Office, for approval.
Abdus Sobhan Sikdar said that there were some grade-1 officials in some departments, including Bangladesh police and the department of agriculture.
The statuses of additional inspector-general of police, of Mohammad Javed Patwary, head of the special branch of police, and additional inspector-general (administration and operation) of police headquarters, AKM Shahidul Hoque, have recently been raised to secretary level, through a home ministry order.
There are a total of 5,739 cadre officials working in the civil administration.
A total of 70 secretaries and acting secretaries are now working against 73 duty posts, while 240 additional secretaries are working against 110 posts.
A total of 943 joint secretaries are working in different ministries and divisions, against 341 sanctioned posts, while 1,386 deputy secretaries are working against the 828 sanctioned posts.
At the same time, 1,448 senior assistant secretaries are working against 2,340 sanctioned posts and 940 assistant secretaries are working against 1,870 sanctioned posts in the civil bureaucracy.
So far, the government has promoted about 1,700 officers to ranks such as deputy secretary, joint secretary, additional secretary, secretary, and the senior secretary, in many cases bypassing seniority.
It is also alleged that the public administration ministry did not promote a number of officials, owing their pro-BNP and pro-Jamaat leanings. Because of these "illogical" promotions, there is a surplus of 1,290 officials in the ranks of additional secretary, joint secretary, and deputy secretary in the civil administration, requesting the higher authorities for posting.