The government of Bangladesh has decided to bring the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department and the Bangladesh Meteorological Department under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief. The move aims to enhance coordination between disaster response and weather forecasting. Reliable ministry sources confirmed that a high-level meeting with the Prime Minister is expected this month to finalize the decision.

Officials said that despite both agencies being directly involved in disaster management, their placement under separate ministries has caused operational confusion and coordination gaps. The proposal, already sent to the Cabinet Division, follows the Prime Minister’s earlier advice to integrate the two agencies. The Disaster Management Ministry argued that the merger would create a unified command chain, improve decision-making, and strengthen national disaster response capacity.

According to the ministry’s proposal, the integration will streamline early warning dissemination, rescue operations, and rehabilitation activities. It is expected to improve resource management, enhance accountability, and reduce disaster-related losses through faster, coordinated action across all administrative levels.