SANGSAD BHABAN, Sept 4, 2023 (BSS) - The Sand Quarry (Balumahal) and Soil Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad with the provision of banning the extraction of sand and soil from farmlands as well as the topsoil of other lands.
 
Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury today placed the bill in the House with Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury in the chair.
 
Piloting the bill, the land minister said, "The bill has been placed aiming to bring necessary amendment of the previous 'Sand Quarry and Soil Management Bill-2010."
 
The topsoil of both private and commercial lands cannot be extracted if there is any possibility of damage, said the minister.

Sand and soil cannot be extracted, if such extraction destroys navigability of river routes, as per the draft act.
 
Right now, there is no bar to extract soil and sand from farmlands. It has been incorporated in the revised act, he said while placing the bill in the parliament.

The Land Minister urged the House to send the bill to the respective parliamentary standing committee for providing report within seven days.