Minister wishes to split rail, roads, shipping and bridges portfolios between 2 state ministers

An office order issued by Road Transport and Bridges, Railways and Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam has expressed his desire to distribute responsibilities among two state ministers.

The order, signed by Senior Assistant Secretary Ajit Deb yesterday, stated that the minister wishes to redistribute responsibilities among the state ministers.

According to the order, State Minister Habibur Rashid would be assigned responsibilities for the Ministry of Railways and the Road Transport and Highways Division. Meanwhile, State Minister Rajib Ahsan would be given responsibilities for the Ministry of Shipping and the Bridges Division.

The office order said the decision had been taken the previous day and was being implemented accordingly.

Under the Rules of Business, the prime minister, or the minister-in-charge with the prime minister’s approval, may specify by order the cases or classes of cases to be handled by a state minister or deputy minister.

Sources at the Cabinet Division said a minister cannot request the Cabinet Secretary, through a senior assistant secretary of his ministry, to allocate portfolios to state ministers of another ministry.

The letter also did not mention whether the prime minister’s consent had been obtained, which is mandatory under the Rules of Business.

A former secretary, speaking on condition of anonymity, said such situations arise due to a lack of clarity regarding procedural requirements.

“Problems have been created due to not knowing such matters. Ministers and state ministers should be given training on this issue,” he said.

Despite multiple attempts, Ajit Deb, the senior assistant secretary who signed the order, could not be reached by phone.