Cabinet clears draft amendment to local govt law

The cabinet on Monday gave final approval to the draft of Local Government (Pourosova) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 aiming to strictly follow the system of holding local government polls every five year.

The approval came from the virtual Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

The PM joined it from Ganabhaban. Other Cabinet members were connected with the meeting from the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters after the meeting said that sometimes it was seen that at end of the tenure some pourosova chairmen go to court and get restriction on holding next election.

He mentioned that by this way some chairmen stay in office for more than five years and even 15-16 years taking the scope of a clause in the existing law that stated that the present chairmen will remain in chair till the next election.

"To stop this practice the government has made this amendment in the 2009 law," he said.

The proposed law said that after the five-year completion the government will be able to appoint an administrator either from the government services who has administrative experience or any other eligible person.

"The appointed administrator will remain in the post for maximum six months and elections have to be held by this time," the cabinet secretary said.

The meeting also decided to make the eligibility for enlistment of any new pourosova which have minimum 2000 person in per kilometre, which is now 1500 in per kilometre.

It changed the name of pourosova member to pouro executive officer.

From the meeting it was decided that the proposed law will include another clause that mentioned that if any pourosova fails to pay salaries and other wages of its officers and employees for 12 months the government can abolish its status as pourosova.

The Cabinet meeting gave approval of the draft of Essential Services Act, 2021 integrating Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1952 and The Essential Services (Second Ordinance), 1958.

After passage of this proposed law, the cabinet secretary said, the government will be able to declare any service essential, when it will be necessary.

He said that the essential services will be included post, telecommunications, internet service, ICT, digital services, mobile financial services, digital financial services, power generation and distribution related services, railways, passenger and goods transportation through water, road and air ways.

Khandker Anwarul said that the government can declare this essential status for maximum six months.

After the declaration, there will be no strike, shut off and lay off in that service.

Any breach of this law will be punishable and if any labour does that he or she will be fined from Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000 and six months imprisonment or both.

For the owner, the punishment is Tk 100,000 maximum or one year imprisonment or both.

For illegal strike the punishment will be expulsion from the job, six months imprisonment or Tk 25,000 fine or both.

If anyone instigates to breach the law that person will be fined Tk 50,000 or one year imprisonment or both.

The Cabinet also approved Chittagong Division Development Board Ordinance, 1976 (repeal) Act, 2021 which will abolish the existing law as per the directives of the court that said all laws enacted during the military regimes will be scrapped.