Accountancy office in Morelganj due to manpower shortage disrupts service activities: upazila residents suffer

SM From Saiful Islam Kabir, Morelganj (Bagerhat):

Even in the digital age of Mujib years, the office activities are being dug out with zero 3 manpower for one and a half years. Bagerhat's Morelganj, one of the largest upazila accounting offices in the country, has 8 posts but only 3 people are working. Upazila Accounts Office Superintendent 1, 2 Junior Auditor and 1 Office Assistant posts as 5 are also vacant. The activities of 29 government departments are ongoing. Upazila Accountant's Office is a public important office at the grassroots level of this large upazila. The officers and employees of that office have to be busy most of the time of the month. Salaries and allowances of government employees, pensions, Public gathering at the accountant's office to collect bills for all government development activities including festival allowance. In such a big upazila, office work is being disrupted because the post of upazila accounting officer has been vacant for one and a half years. The activities are going on slowly. After going to the office, it is known that there are 8 posts on paper, only 3 people are working, 1 superintendent of upazila accounting office, 2 junior auditors and 1 office assistant are also vacant. As a result, the service aspirants are suffering a lot, complications have arisen in many administrative activities. Officials and employees of various government offices are suffering. Apart from this, there are various complaints from the service aspirants including various government departments about the service activities of the accounting office. The posts of 2 Junior Auditors and 1 Office Assistant are also vacant. As a result, the service aspirants are suffering a lot, complications have arisen in many administrative activities. Officials and employees of various government offices are suffering. Apart from this, there are various complaints from the service aspirants including various government departments about the service activities of the accounting office. The posts of 2 Junior Auditors and 1 Office Assistant are also vacant. As a result, the service aspirants are suffering a lot, complications have arisen in many administrative activities. Officials and employees of various government offices are suffering. Apart from this, there are various complaints from the service aspirants including various government departments about the service activities of the accounting office.

According to Morelganj accounting office sources, on February 6, 2022, the then accounting officer, Md. Alamgir Hossain, was transferred on promotion. Since then the post has been vacant. Later Sharankhola Upazila Accounts Officer GM Nurul Amin was given (additional) responsibility in Morelganj Upazila by the concerned department. After that, on February 13 of this year, Kachua Upazila Accounting Officer Monirul Islam was again given (additional) responsibility in Morelganj.

It is noted that Monirul Islam has gained a good reputation among the service users during his duties in this upazila, he has approved the bills of every department with transparency. Later, he was removed and once again GM Nurul Alam (as) was given responsibility by the authorities. Nurul Alam retired in July this year, currently serving here two days a week as accounting officer of Rupsa Upazila, Madan Kumar (Aad). This is how this public office of Morelganj upazila is running.

Every day hundreds of people have to come to this office for various tasks including approval of their salaries and other bills. An assistant teacher of a government primary school who has recently retired said, I retired after a long career, it is difficult to climb the stairs to the account office on the 3rd floor with pension papers, there is no account officer. It takes 2 months to complete a 5 day job, here an Accounts Officer is required permanently.

A government official working in the upazila said that due to the lack of a permanent accounting officer in such a big upazila, we are having to struggle to prepare and release important government bills at the right time.

 

Some other service users say that even though the officer on additional duty is supposed to work in Morelganj office two days a week from Rupsa, he also cannot come to the office at the right time, he has to wait to clear the bills of various departments from morning to night. This is causing suffering to the service receivers and disrupting various services.

Upazila Accounts Officer (AD) Madan Kumar said, I work two days a week in Morelganj, I have to stay up all night to work, but still I can't approve many important bills on time, a permanent accounting officer is very important in such a big upazila.

When talking to Khulna Divisional Controller of Accounts Nurul Absar about whether accounting officers will be given permanently in Morelganj, he said that we have sent a letter to the office of the Comptroller General of Accounts to appoint accounting officers permanently in some big upazilas including Morelganj, but if the local upazila executive officers ask for accounting officers, they will go to the Comptroller General. A letter will be more effective. This officer also said that the officer will be found permanently as soon as the news is published. The conscious people of the area have drawn the attention of the higher authorities to reduce the public suffering by appointing manpower quickly to the vacancies of this important office.