The maintenance of law and order and the provision of essential services is the foremost task to be taken in hand by the Bangladesh Government in the wake of liberation. To achieve this it is necessary to repair and restore the Civil Administration immediately.
2. Taking all factors into account, it seems that there is no alternative to the retention of the existing personnel and administrative structure at the district level and below. Government will make categorical statement forthwith to the following effect :
(a) A high power Administrative Reforms Commission will be set up within two months of the Govt.'s shifting its headquarters to Dacca to draft legislation to reform the services and administrative structure in accordance with the fundamental principles enunciated by the Govt. from time to time.
(b) A high powered Screening Committee will be set up to punish or remove unpatriotic officials. This is in addition to the trial of those who have actively collaborated with the enemy, under the law for trial of collaborators.
(c) Government is aware that many Government servants were serving
under duress and guarantees that no one will be punished without fair trial in accordance with the law.
(d) All Government Servants who left their posts during enemy
occupation and remained inside Bangladesh should return to their posts as soon as the areas are liberated and establish contact with local Administration. Persons appointed/posted to these places after March 25, 1971, will revert as Officers on Special Duty. Those who were at their posts at the time of liberation should remain in their posts and establish similar contact with
the local Administration until further orders. Notwithstanding the above, all postings and appointments made by the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh will hold good and present incumbents of these posts will become Officers on Special Duty until further orders.
(e) Those Government servants who left their posts and crossed into
neighbouring countries, unless otherwise assigned by the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to any specific purposes, should also return to their posts held by them on or before March 25, 1971 with prior intimation to the Government and nearest Bangladesh Administration. Present holders of such posts will become Officers on Special Duty, until further orders.
(f) The Offices of Zonal Administration will submit to the Government a list of Government Servants whether at present employed or not indicating the last posts held by them in Bangladesh.
3. Out of the list of personnel furnished by Zonal Administration paragraph 2 (1) above or available in headquarters office. Thana Units will be formed ready for despatch to places where vacuum may exist.
The composition of the Unit will be as follows:
The Thana Magistrate will have the power to deploy personnel available within his jurisdiction, in any manner he chooses to meet emergencies with regard to maintenance of Law & Order, rehabilitation, supply of essential commodities and restoration and maintenance of services. He will be the financial controller at the thana level. As financial controller he will incur expenditure in respect of pay of officers and establishment and contingencies out of the imprest placed at his disposal. The CO (DEV) will act as special Relief Officer.
The Secretary, General Administration will follow up implementation of the decisions by the Department concerned.
4. Each Thana Unit constituted under para 3 shall be provided with one month's pay in advance before being despatched to their places of duty. The Treasury Officer will be provided with an initial interest of Rs. 10,000.00 (ten thousand ).
The Cabinet was also pleased to take the following decisions for restoration of Civil Administration in Bangladesh :
(a) Deputy Commissioners and District Magistrate, the Superinten Dents of Police will be posted in all the 19 districts.
Other officials will be posted whenever necessary. Regarding administration of the Municipal/Town Committees and villages, the following decisions were taken.
(b) For the time being Administrators will be appointed by the Government to take over and start functioning the Municipal and Town Committees. The Administrators will continue to function till such time Committees are appointed by the Goverumucut to run the administration of the Municipal towns. The Committee will be nominated in due course.
(c) For the maintenance of Law and Orders and for provision of basic facilities at the village levels, Gram Panchayat will be responsible. They will be assisted by Gram Rakshmi Bahini.
(d) The Cabinet was pleased to observe in this connection that people's representatives should be associated at all levels of administration, as far as possible. The public representative should be consulted particularly in such matters as relief and rehabilitation, reconstruction and Law & Order. It was decided that the Acting Secretary General would submit a paper to the Cabinet on this subject.
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ACTING PRESIDENT.
সূত্র: এইচ. টি. ইমাম এর লেখা বই "বাংলাদেশ সরকার ১৯৭১"