Govt moves to rapidly implement key public administration reform proposals
A high-level meeting was held on 16 June at the Chief Adviser’s Office to finalise action plans for urgent reforms.
The interim government has decided to swiftly implement immediate action-oriented recommendations from the Public Administration Reform Commission, as part of a broader push to deliver on promises made following last year's mass uprising that brought it to power.
A high-level meeting was held on 16 June at the Chief Adviser's Office (CAO), chaired by the CA's Principal Secretary M Siraz Uddin Miah, to finalise action plans for urgent reforms.
The meeting focused on 18 key proposals from the reform commission, eight of which were identified as quickly implementable, according to a media statement issued by the CA's Press Wing today (20 June).
It said a total of 121 recommendations that are easily implementable by the authorities concerned on their own were received from five different reform commissions, including nine from the Electoral Reform Commission, 38 from the Judicial Reform Commission, 43 from the Anti-Corruption Commission Reform Commission, 13 from the Police Reform Commission, and 18 from the Public Administration Reform Commission.
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The eight key proposals highlighted for immediate action are as follows:
Sanitary toilets at highway fuel stations: The Energy and Mineral Resources Division will hold discussions with petrol pump and CNG refuelling station owners' associations to finalise a timeline for installing separate hygienic toilets for men and women across all stations by 20 July.
The division will issue instructions and request deputy commissioners (DCs) to monitor implementation. The Cabinet Division will also instruct DCs accordingly. District administrations will conduct regular inspections and report to both the Cabinet Division and the CAO.
Dynamic government websites: The ICT Division will hold meetings with all ministries within a week to define steps for updating websites with real-time data and including options for citizen feedback.
The National Data Governance Interoperability system must be completed within the next two months.
Reforming school and college managing committees: The Secondary and Higher Education Division (SHED) will send the draft policy on managing committee formation to the Ministry of Public Administration within two days.
The public administration ministry will complete vetting within five working days and return it, and the SHED will issue the policy within the next five working days. The reconstitution of managing committees must be completed within one month of the policy's issuance.
Community health centers via NGOs: The Health Services Division, in coordination with the NGO Affairs Bureau and relevant NGOs, will finalise a strategy for community health center operations within one week.
Regular public hearings in govt offices: The Cabinet Division will hold meetings with all service-providing ministries and departments within a week to devise a strategy for holding regular public hearings.
Review of information and secrecy laws: The Cabinet Division will develop a time-bound action plan to review and amend the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will prepare a similar plan for the Right to Information Act, 2009.
Transforming BBS into a commission: The Statistics and Informatics Division will align ongoing World Bank-supported reform efforts with the reform commission's recommendations to restructure the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and transform it into Bangladesh Statistics Commission, and prepare a time-bound action plan.
Completing digital transformation, strengthening e-Government/e-Service systems: The ICT Division will develop and implement a time-bound plan to integrate all government services into the existing citizen platform launched by the current government.
The National Data Governance Interoperability system must be implemented swiftly. All ministries/divisions must submit their time-bound action plans to the Cabinet Division and the Office of the Chief Adviser within one month.
Oversight and implementation mechanism
During the meeting, Principal Secretary Siraz said that every ministry has been instructed to form an internal implementation team. A supervisory team under the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) at the CAO will coordinate efforts and provide technical assistance. The Cabinet Division will also play a central monitoring role, according to the press wing statement.
He emphasised that regular inter-ministerial meetings will continue to ensure momentum across other reform areas. Over the past several months, 1,061 reform and development initiatives have already been undertaken across 54 ministries, reflecting a strong push toward systemic change.
These steps signal the interim government's commitment to institutional reform, transparency, and enhanced service delivery in response to long-standing public demands.
