Ministry to review inclusion of 29 books by secy in its suggested list

Public Administration Senior Secretary KM Ali Azam said they will review the issue of including 29 books written by an additional secretary in its suggested book list and make corrections accordingly. 

"If verification proves the authenticity of the allegation or any problem is found, action will be taken to correct or cancel the list," the ministry official said on Sunday (28 August).

The Ministry of Public Administration recently made a booklist for the offices of Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Upazila Nirbahi Officers under an initiative to increase reading habits among government officials.

The ministry also allocated Tk9.54 crore to purchase books with a suggested list of 1,477 books. The initiative drew criticism after it has been found that the list includes 29 books written by an additional secretary of the ministry. 

More than one hundred books the lists suggest are also written by top government officials. 

Senior Secretary KM Ali Azam said the ministry will hold a meeting on the issue Monday.

He further said the ministry did not force the local administrations to follow the book list. 

"They were asked to keep the list in consideration while buying books."

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said the additional secretary should not have listed so many books written by him despite being part of the committee to decide the book list. 

"But no one was forced to buy these books. Only the best books have been purchased at the district and upazila level," he told The Business Standard. 

He further said the lists include all types of books. "We did not find any information stating that his books were purchased." 

Farhad Hossain further said in future, books written by the additional secretary will be excluded from the lists.