SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 13, 2018 (BSS) -The Road Transport Bill, 2018 was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad with a view to enact a modern act so that a safe road transport system can be build across the country.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today placed in the Jatiya Sangsad with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
Placing the bill, the minister said the new transport law will be enacted through replacing the existing Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1983.
The proposed bill contains 14 sections and 126 articles while the existing law containing 177 articles and 12 schedules.
The cabinet on August 6 approved the proposed bill keeping maximum punishment of five years’ imprisonment for causing death to a person by reckless driving, drawing strong criticism from road safety campaigners who termed the sentence insufficient to end anarchy on roads.
In March last year, the cabinet approved on principle the proposed legislation — Road Transport Act — but it remained shelved at the law ministry for more than a year for vetting, amid opposition from transport owners and workers to some of its provisions. But the government decided to place the draft law before the cabinet amid nationwide student agitation for road safety, following the death of two college students in the capital under a bus on July 29.
The minister urged the House to send the bill to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for providing report within seven days.