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The interim government has approved a wide-ranging set of administrative reforms aimed at improving transparency, efficiency and accountability across key state institutions, as preparations intensify for the next national election.
At the meeting of the National Implementation Committee on Administrative Reorganisation (NICAR), chaired by Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the state guest house Jamuna on Tuesday, the government gave final approval to the structural separation of the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The move will formally divide the powerful tax authority into two distinct entities: a Revenue Policy Division and a Revenue Management Division.
Officials said the two new divisions would begin operations in February. According to the NBR chair, preparatory work for the split is almost complete. The reform had been announced earlier, but Tuesday’s meeting marked its final administrative approval.
Briefing reporters at the Foreign Service Academy, the Chief Adviser’s press secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said the restructuring was intended to make revenue collection “more transparent, dynamic and accountable”, addressing long-standing concerns over inefficiency and concentration of power within the existing system.
The NICAR meeting approved a total of 11 administrative decisions, reflecting what officials described as a broader reform agenda under the interim administration.
Among the issues discussed was the future structure of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), currently responsible for law enforcement across 50 police stations — a scale that officials acknowledged had become unwieldy.
The committee held preliminary discussions on whether the DMP could be divided into multiple units, potentially along north–south lines or other administrative configurations, to improve operational efficiency and law and order management. No final decision has yet been taken, but officials indicated that the idea remains under active consideration.
Election preparedness featured prominently in the meeting. According to the press secretary, Professor Yunus stressed the importance of ensuring a free and orderly electoral environment, issuing firm instructions to recover looted firearms before polling begins.
“Looted weapons must be recovered by any means necessary and as quickly as possible before the election,” the chief adviser was quoted as saying.
In a related briefing, Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder said that of the country’s approximately 42,000 polling centres, around 6,500 already have CCTV coverage. A special allocation of about Tk 720 million has been approved to install CCTV cameras in the remaining centres ahead of the election.
The NICAR meeting also granted retrospective approval for the establishment of the July Mass Uprising Directorate, already formed under the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs. The new body will be responsible for preserving the memory of the July uprising and coordinating related activities.
As part of broader administrative streamlining, the government approved the merger of the Public Security Division and the Security Services Division under the Ministry of Home Affairs, effectively restructuring the ministry’s internal framework.
In another significant decision, the two divisions under the Ministry of Health — the Health Services Division and the Health Education and Family Welfare Division — will be reunited into a single Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Explaining the rationale, Shafiqul Alam said the original division of the ministry had been intended to improve service delivery, but experience had shown the opposite effect. “Both healthcare services and medical education have suffered a noticeable decline in quality under the dual structure,” he said, adding that reunification was expected to restore coordination and momentum in the sector.
The meeting also approved a change in the Bangla name of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs to Ministry of Women and Children, while retaining its English title unchanged.
NICAR approved the creation of four new police stations: two in Purbachal, one in Raipura in Narsingdi district, and one in Matarbari, Cox’s Bazar. The Purbachal stations will be named Purbachal North Police Station (Gazipur district) and Purbachal South Police Station (Narayanganj district). The name of the new Raipura police station has yet to be finalised.
The committee also approved a spelling correction for Bhulli Police Station in Thakurgaon district, which will now be officially spelled Bhulli in Bangla.
In a move with both administrative and symbolic significance, Satkhira district was upgraded from Category B to Category A, citing its environmental heritage, tourism potential and growing economic importance. The district includes part of the Sundarbans mangrove forest and is now linked to the strategically important Bhomra land port.
Referring to past political repression, the press secretary said: “During the previous Awami League government, the people of Satkhira faced severe oppression. Considering its national importance, it has now been upgraded to an ‘A’ category district.”
Officials indicated that further reform-oriented discussions and decisions are likely in the coming months, as the interim government seeks to stabilise governance structures and ensure credible conditions for the upcoming parliamentary election.
The scale and scope of Tuesday’s decisions underline the Yunus-led administration’s attempt to reshape key institutions — not only to improve day-to-day governance, but also to signal a break from entrenched administrative practices ahead of a politically sensitive transition.