Fascist Cronies Still Hold Sway at Agriculture Department
The Ministry of Agriculture has initiated a major overhaul across its 17 constituent agencies and departments to remove key administrative personnel and Project Directors (PDs) linked to the former Awami League administration. Senior ministry officials confirmed that these beneficiary officials have been under scrutiny following allegations that they plotted to derail development initiatives and to instigate an artificial field-level fertilizer crisis. To clean up systemic irregularities, a high-level scrutiny committee has been formed to evaluate candidates and re-establish transparency. The ministry is compiling comprehensive background reports on these controversial figures to execute rapid transfers and removals across all departmental tiers.
The restructuring follows a long period of administrative stagnation that peaked during the tenure of former Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque under the Hasina government. During that era, widespread corruption within the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) led to the suspension of a high-profile BDT 3,000-crore agricultural mechanization project. In recent weeks, several opportunistic officials attempted to undermine the current administration’s reform drive by issuing unauthorized tenders worth billions of Taka in June without required government clearances. In response, the ministry invalidated those actions and launched fresh recruitment drives based strictly on professional competence, merit, and administrative integrity.
Among the key Project Directors currently facing intense investigation are several high-profile officials heading major regional and national development initiatives. These include Dr. Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Mazumder of the Agricultural Development Project in Dhaka Region, Dr. Muhammad Emdadul Haque of the Smallholder Agricultural Competitiveness Project (SACP), and Md. Rokib Uddin of the Sylhet Region Agricultural Development Project. Other prominent PDs under review are Khandaker Muhammad Rashed Iftekhar, Mohammad Rashed Hasnat, Talha Zubair Masrur, and Mohammad Lokman Hossain Mazumder. Long-deprived career bureaucrats have formally demanded the immediate cancellation of these appointments and the swift induction of non-partisan officers.
Scrutiny has also intensified over the implementation of a BDT 148.80-crore project aimed at strengthening nutrition and food security across 155 upazilas in 49 districts. Scheduled for completion by 2027 with the DAE as the lead agency alongside BIRTAN, the project targets an 8–10% boost in agricultural productivity through modern technology, zinc-enriched rice, and crop rotation. Key targets include setting up 17,153 demonstration plots, 1,705 school gardens, 155 safe nutrition villages, and 7 mini-nutrition labs to benefit 308,618 farming families. However, extensive allegations of financial mismanagement and irregularities surrounding this scheme have been formally submitted to the ministry for investigation.
Despite the political shift following the August ’24 student-led mass uprising, many regime beneficiaries initially retained their posts during the early months of the current government and the preceding interim administration. Bureaucrats denied promotions for the past 17 years expressed frustration over the delay, attributing it to these officials maintaining favorable ties with former ministry secretaries. Taking advantage of the initial administrative leniency, some field officials allegedly engineered artificial fertilizer shortages despite adequate state reserves to trigger public discontent. This prompted the current Agriculture Minister and Secretary to take a stern stance, placing several officers on Special Duty (OSD) and initiating formal proceedings for their prompt removal.
Speaking on the ongoing administrative measures, Agriculture Secretary Salim Khan declared that strict legal and departmental action will be taken against anyone attempting to derail government development activities. Clarifying the appointment framework for key development roles, the Agriculture Secretary stated, ‘PDs are not directly appointed by the ministry itself, but rather through recommendations from a high-level committee. Officials appointed under the previous regime cannot simply be retained by the current administration, and only qualified and eligible officers will be appointed moving forward’.
The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) recently exposed severe procedural violations, including an incident where 420 e-GP tenders were floated in a single day under BADC’s ‘Surface Water Irrigation Development Project in Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar Districts’. The project’s PD, Nurul Islam, was removed after repeatedly ignoring ministry directives regarding the government-funded BDT 602.02-crore project. Meanwhile, Dr. Ibrahim Khalil continues to head BADC’s BDT 292.86-crore seed production modernization project while undergoing administrative review alongside administrators of nearly a dozen other crucial agricultural programs.
To maintain project momentum, the ministry is accelerating the evaluation process to post qualified, professional officers across all affected project units. An Additional Secretary from the Ministry of Agriculture, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, confirmed that controversial project heads appointed under the past regime have been actively engaging in subversive activities to stall progress. The senior official emphasized that the government is preparing comprehensive official orders, disciplinary actions, and standard procedural transfers to cleanse the administration and restore dynamic momentum to national development projects.
