Land Ministry cites transparency in new transfer directive
The Land Ministry has directed the phased transfer or change of workplace of field-level officials and employees who have served at the same station for three years or more, citing the need to ensure transparency, neutrality and accountability in land administration.
The ministry has instructed divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to prepare updated lists of the officials and employees concerned and take the necessary administrative measures for their transfer or relocation.
The directive was issued in a circular on September 1 by the Field Administration-1 branch of the Ministry of Land. Senior Secretary A S M Saleh Ahmed signed the circular.
According to the circular, land management and land services are important government functions directly linked to people’s lives, livelihoods and assets. Appropriate and timely postings of field-level officials and employees are therefore important to ensure transparency, impartiality, accountability and public-friendly services.
The ministry said prolonged service at the same workplace could lead to excessive personal connections and vested interests at the local level. In some cases, this could affect neutrality, transparency and accountability in carrying out official duties.
Such risks need to be reduced through regular postings or transfers, particularly in land administration, which the ministry described as a sensitive and public-interest-oriented area of government activity.
Under the existing government policies and directives, field-level officials and employees under the Land Ministry have been discouraged from serving at the same workplace for an extended period.
The circular said those who had served at the same workplace for three years or more should be given the opportunity to perform their duties elsewhere through phased transfers or changes of workplace.
To implement the directive, each divisional commissioner and deputy commissioner has been asked to prepare an updated list of field-level officials and employees under the Land Ministry within their respective jurisdictions.
The list must include their names, designations, current workplaces, dates of joining those workplaces and periods of service.
The authorities will then review the lists and take the necessary administrative steps to transfer or change the workplaces of officials and employees who have served at the same station for three years or longer.
The directive also allows transfers or changes of workplace before an employee completes three years at a particular station if required on grounds of administrative necessity, public interest, discipline, complaints, performance or any other specific and reasonable reason, subject to existing rules and regulations.
The ministry has asked divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners to treat the measure as part of regular administrative activities and take the necessary steps to ensure the phased transfer or relocation of eligible field-level officials and employees.
