DC conference begins today with 350 agendas

Staff Correspondent : The District Commissioner (DC) conference is starting today. It will end on Wednesday (March 6). Every year the conference is three days but this time it will be four days long.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the DC Conference-2024 at the Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office. During this time,she will freely discuss with the DC and Divisional Commissioners on matters related to field administration. Will give important directions.
It is known that on the agenda of the DCs with various ministries and departments on behalf of the government, in the holy month of Ramadan, taking measures against dishonest traders, controlling the prices of daily commodities, law and order control to eliminate theft, robbery, terrorism and drugs, especially eliminating drugs, and good governance by stopping bribery and corruption.
Establishing, increasing agricultural production and not destroying agricultural land, protecting the environment and forest resources, renovating and conserving water bodies, taking initiatives to develop tourism at the district level, taking measures to prevent environmental pollution, taking initiatives to create employment at the district level, maintaining proper fuel supply during the irrigation season, education.
Strengthening monitoring in implementation of new curriculum, strengthening monitoring in project implementation at local level and cooperation in increasing revenue etc. will be prioritized. In particular, the outline of building smart administration, smart Bangladesh is also on the agenda of this year’s DC conference.
According to the sources of the Cabinet Department, about 350 proposals have been submitted to the Cabinet Department regarding 56 Ministries, Departments, Offices and Organizations in the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Conference.
Last year too DCs sent around twenty and fifty proposals. Most of those recommendations have not been implemented. Among these, there are proposals for increasing market control capacity across the country, increasing the power of DCs in development projects and existing problems of Zilla Parishads, Upazila Parishads, Rohingya crisis and solutions. They raised the local problems of their respective district upazilas. In turn, there are proposals for increasing the scope of powers and responsibilities and privileges of DCs and UNOs.
Additional Secretary of the Cabinet Division (District and Field Administration Division) Md. Amin ul Ahsan said that about 350 proposals have been received in this year’s DC conference. These proposals will be discussed with the relevant ministries and departments.
He said that after the formation of the new government, the Prime Minister will give new instructions to the field officers. His speech and instructions will act as motivation among those who are responsible for the field administration. The DCs will present their work experience directly to the Prime Minister. Take guidance on field political, economic and countrywide developments and issues. DCs will participate in open discussion in the presence of the Prime Minister. Tell them their problems. They will also propose to the Prime Minister what kind of crisis to deal with while working.
Mahmudul Hossain Khan, Secretary of Coordination and Reforms of the Cabinet Department, said that there will be a discussion on the development of the economy of each district. Emphasis will be given on branding of GI products, bringing remittances through legal channels to stop money laundering, economic zones and basic industrial cities. For this there is a feedback session on the last day and a session on conference evaluation. A plan will be finalized on what the DCs get at the conference and what they will do in the field.
For the first time in this year’s DC Conference, former Cabinet Secretaries will present their experience to the Divisional Commissioners and DCs and give necessary advice. For this reason, a discussion meeting titled ‘Field Administration in Development’ has been organized on the first day of the conference (Sunday) at 7:30 pm. Cabinet Secretary Mahbub Hossain will preside over the meeting. Former cabinet secretaries will be present as negotiators.
Former Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said that the Cabinet Department has informed about the discussion. Relevant issues will be discussed.
He said, former cabinet secretaries can highlight their practical experience. Advise on necessary matters. Field administration officials will benefit from this.
Highlighting the importance of the DC conference, the former secretary said that the discussions of the DC conference are very important. Through this, the highest people of the state get an opportunity to know the reality of the field. Again, DCs get some immediate instructions from higher officials.
Discussion will be held in view of DC and Divisional Commissioners’ words. The former cabinet secretary feels that this will create an interconnection between the former and present officials.
It is known that after the inauguration of the DC Conference at Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister’s Office at 10:30 am on Sunday, there will be a free discussion and photo session with the Prime Minister with a break of half an hour.
After an open discussion with the Prime Minister, a meeting of the District Commissioners will be held with the Prime Minister’s Office and its affiliated organizations from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM. Each meeting will be chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
The four-day conference will have a total of 30 working sessions. There will also be an open discussion with the Prime Minister, a courtesy meeting with the Speaker of the National Assembly, and a meeting with the Chief Justice. The Deputy Administrators will participate in a dinner with the Prime Minister and the Speaker during the four-day working day. As the President is out of the country, no arrangements have been made with him.
The main working session will be held on the first day from 4 pm to 5 pm. These sessions will be held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium. Each session will be ministry based. Ministers, secretaries and senior officials of the relevant ministries will be present there. The main session will begin with a session involving the Ministry of Health, which will count as the second session. The third session will be about the Ministry of Education and Primary and Mass Education. The fourth session will deal with the Ministry of Social Welfare, Youth and Sports and Women and Child Affairs. The fifth session will have a discussion on ‘Field Administration in Development’.
There are a total of 8 working sessions on the second day of the conference. The first session will start at 9 am. The session includes the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Religion, Culture. The second session of the second day will be held on the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning. The third session is related to the Ministry of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture. In the fourth session, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce will be discussed. The agenda of the fifth session of the day includes the issue of road transport, bridge department and railway ministry. The agenda of the sixth session includes the Ministry of Shipping, Water Resources and Disaster Management.
However, there is a difference in the seventh session. This session is organized on Anti-Corruption Commission. The very last session of the second day was arranged on the issue of Textiles and Jute and Ministry of Labor and Employment. In the evening of this day, the Deputy Administrators will attend a courtesy meeting and dinner with the Speaker at the National Parliament Building.
There are seven sessions on the third day. The first session will be with the Ministry of Defense and Department of Armed Forces. There will be two ministries in the second session. One is the Ministry of Liberation War and the other is the Ministry of Housing and Public Works. The third session is about four ministries. These are the Ministries of Science and Technology, Posts and Telecommunications, Information and Communication Technology and Information and Broadcasting. The fourth session will be only related to the Ministry of Public Administration. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Welfare is on the agenda of the fifth session. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Department of Power and Energy will be present in the sixth session. The last session of the day will be related to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
There are total five sessions on Wednesday i.e. the last day. The first session is about two ministries of land and law. In the second session, the Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts are discussed. On the agenda of the third session of the day is the cabinet section. Besides, the session will have feedback and evaluation of the conference. Basically, it is the closing session. At the end of this session, the DCs have a courtesy call and entertainment with the Chief Justice.
On the evening of the last day, a meeting of the Administrative Service Association with the Prime Minister will be held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. This year’s DC Conference will end with a dinner with the Prime Minister.