Hajj and Umrah Management Bill, 2021 placed in parliament

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SANGSAD BHABAN, April 4, 2021 (BSS) – Hajj and Umrah Management Bill, 2021
was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad aiming to ensure performing hajj and umrah
smoothly by the Muslim devotees and remove irregularities and mismanagement
in the sector.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan placed the bill in
the house with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.

Piloting the bill, the state minister said “the enactment of the law will
ensure performing hajj and umrah by the Muslim devotees and bring the hajj
agencies under registration process.”

“We need a legal structure to deal with Hajj management. Without having
registration under the proposed law, no one will be able to deal with any
Haji [Hajj pilgrim]. And the registration authority can take action against
irregularities,” he also said.

According to the bill, the registration of any Hajj and Umrah agency can be
cancelled over anomalies.

Also, a Hajj agency can be slapped with a fine of maximum Tk 50 lakh, while
an Umrah agency with Tk 15 lakh for irregularities, it said.

“If any agency gets warnings for two years in a row, its registration will
automatically be suspended for the same period. Also, lawsuits can be filed
against criminal offences committed in the Hajj and Umrah management,”
according to the proposed bill.

The religious affairs ministry placed the bill in the cabinet following its
directive issued in 2012 to enact a law instead of the existing policy, the
state minister said.

“After the enactment of the new law, if a Bangladeshi gets involved in
Hajj-related irregularities even in Saudi Arabia, it can be treated, as if,
it had happened in Bangladesh and legal steps, including criminal and
administrative actions, can be taken,” the bill explained.

The state minister urged the House to send the bill to the concerned
parliamentary standing committee for providing reports within forty days.