Development activities in the public sector are being hampered due to non-effectiveness of the government's order to merge administration and economic cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), insiders opined on Saturday.
They said since the merger order is yet to be fully effective, issues regarding promotion, salary upgradation and many other service-related facilities of the economic cadre officials have been stagnant, which is creating a negative impact on the country's development.
Following several setbacks of the economic cadre officials, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina instructed the Ministry of Public Administration (MoPA) last year to merge the cadre with administration cadre for ensuring equal benefits to them.
Accordingly, the government issued a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) in November 2018, ordering merger of BCS economic cadre with administration cadre.
However, the MoPA has so far failed to transfer the economic cadre officials to administration cadre, which has almost halted promotion, posting and other service-related facilities of the economic cadre officials, insiders said.
On the other hand, the BCS admin cadre officials are getting promotion and other service benefits in a normal pace.
The situation has made the economic cadre officials concerned frustrated, affecting the country's development scenario, they added.
The officials of BCS economic cadre, which was defunct in November, mainly work with different ministries, divisions and the Planning Commission (PC) for planning, monitoring and executing development projects and programmes of the government.
Some economic cadre officials said since there is no visible progress in merger of both the cadres until to-date, they are being deprived of getting various due benefits from the government.
"For example, the admin cadre officials of 17th batch have recently got promotion as joint secretary. But the 15th batch officials of economic cadre are still working as deputy chief," said one of them.
"Similarly, the 27th batch officials of admin cadre are in the process of being promoted. However, the same batch officers of our cadre got promotion as senior assistant chief only a year ago."
"Even after the PM's order and a gazette notification by the government on November 13, 2018, the non-effectiveness of merger between economic cadre and admin cadre is really depressing for us," he added.
Meanwhile, the MoPA has recently given an order to send some 160 officials, who joined the government in BCS economic cadre, to a five-month training at the BCS (Administration) Academy, said the officials.
When these officials will take part in the training for five months and later will be posted outside Dhaka, it will create vacuum of posts in the planning wings of various ministries and divisions as well as in the PC.
As a result, it will further affect the government's development works, they added.
Kazi Jahangir Alam, President of the BCS Economic Association, demanded quick implementation of the merger process of both the cadres.
He also said batch-wise promotion should be given, as the government has notified in the gazette, following delay in promotion and inequality among the cadres.
"The gradation and seniority of the ex-economic cadre officials with the admin cadre officials should be ensured as soon as possible," added Mr Alam, who is also the chief of the PC.
