The interim government has merged two divisions of the Ministry of Home Affairs after eight years, a cabinet division gazette notification reads.
The Cabinet Division issued a notification restructuring the ministry by merging its “Public Security Division” and “Security Services Division” into a single entity Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday under the authority of the “Rules of Business 1996.
In 2017, the ousted Awami League government divided the Ministry of Home Affairs into two divisions for administrative convenience.
One division was named the Public Security Division and the other was named the Security Services Division.
The Public Security Division oversees the Police Department, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Bangladesh Ansar and Village Defence Party, Bangladesh Coast Guard, investigative agencies and International Crimes Tribunals (ICT), and the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC).
The Security Services Division oversees the Department of Immigration and Passports, Department of Prisons, Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Department, and the Department of Narcotics Control.
At present, Senior Secretary Nasimul Ghani is serving as the secretary of both the Public Security Division and the Security Services Division.
The matter of merging these divisions came under discussion ater the current interim government assumed office.
When asked about the merger of the two divisions, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid told Times of Bangladesh that the proposal came about as a result of a lack of coordination between the two divisions.
“Take any situation – for example, suppose there’s a fire somewhere. You will send fire service personnel there. But if the fire service has no coordination with the police, then the fire service staff cannot work effectively. When the Narcotics Department goes on a raid, they might face counterattacks. In such cases, they cannot go without support, or in border areas, they cannot proceed without the help of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB),” said the cabinet secretary.
“If these agencies do not fall under one division, how will they operate? When everyone has to work together, if there are two divisions, it’s like having two separate ministries. From my position, this is all I can say,” Cabinet Secretary Rashid added.
