Cabinet Okays drafts of CDA, KDA acts

1542

DHAKA, Aug 28, 2017 (BSS) – The Cabinet today gave its final approval to the draft of Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) Act, 2017 and Khulna Development Authority (KDA) Act, 2017 barring their chairman, members and officials from doing any business with these organizations.

“The weekly cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at the PMO gave approval to the drafts,” Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul Alam told a news briefing at Bangladesh Secretariat.

He said the drafts proposed stringent punitive actions against CDA and KDA chairmen, members and officials if they were found to be engaged in businesses involving their offices.

Alam said the cabinet incorporated a provision in the proposed laws elevating the position of CDA and KDA secretaries as member secretaries alongside enhancing the amount of fines to be enforced by the two regulatory authorities from Taka 200 to Taka five lakh for demolition of any boundary wall, pillar of street light.

The CDA board will comprise its chairman, four full-time members, Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong, Managing Director of Chittagong WASA, Managing Director of Bangladesh Railway’s Eastern Zone, Chief Engineer of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), representatives of Chittagong Chamber, Public Works Department, Department of Environment and Forests, two councilors nominated by the mayor of Chittagong, and four imminent citizens to be nominated by the government.

KDA Board, on the other hand, would be constituted with the chairman, three full-time members, deputy commissioners of Khulna, Bagerhat and Jessore, representatives of the ministries of housing, land, civil aviation and tourism, environment and forests, Mongla Port Authority, Khulna Metropolitan Police and Public Works Department.

At the beginning of the meeting, Alam said, the cabinet adopted obituary reference for three late imminent persons. They are Nayak Raj Razzak, former parliament member of Jessore-5 constituency Advocate Khan Tipu Sultan and Shamsul Slam Shamsu, a former footballer and father of cricketer Khaled Masud Pailot.