The Cabinet today approved in principle the draft of the Local Government (City Corporation) (Amendment) Act, 2023 keeping a provision to hold election to a city corporation within 90 days instead of 180 days before the expiry of its five-year tenure.
As per the draft law, the election will have to be held within three months before expiry of tenure as it is six months in the existing law, Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain told a press conference at the Secretariat here this afternoon.
Earlier, the Cabinet meeting was held at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The cabinet secretary said if the draft law is passed, the city corporation will have to discharge the responsibility of maintaining rainwater drainage system as now city corporations are doing the task through a kind of agreement.
In the draft law, city corporation secretary’s post has been changed to executive officer and the position will be under the position of chief executive officer.
Leave of mayor and councilor has been reduced to one month from three months in a year.
Besides, as per the proposed law, if a ward councilor goes on leave, then a reserve councillor will be brought in charge of the ward.
In the draft law, the city corporation was given the authority to fine the owners and organisations of private roads if they didn’t comply with the city corporation’s order related to road management.
The Cabinet also approved the draft of the Local Government (Union Parishad) (Amendment) Act keeping a provision to appoint administrators in union parishads (UPs) on the expiry of the five-year tenure of the elected representatives.
As per the draft law, a UP chairman will no way get scope to stay in his post after the expiry of tenure.
Besides, in the draft law, the post of a UP secretary has been changed to ‘UP administrative officer’.
The UP’s elected body will have to sit in its first sitting within 10 days after taking oath.
Draft of Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2023 got approval in principle in the Cabinet with increasing maternity leave for women workers to 120 days from 16 weeks or 112 days.
Now a female worker can avail 16 weeks as maternity leave –eight weeks before the birth of a baby and eight weeks after the birth.
A female worker can get the maternity leave at her convenient time before or after the delivery of the baby.
In the draft law, condition for formation of a trade union was eased.
Signatures of 15 percent workers will be required in a company having over 3,000 workers and the signatures of 20 pc workers in a company having less than 3,000 employees to form a trade union. As per the existing law, 20pc signatures are required in both cases.
In the case of a group of companies, the signatures of 20pc workers instead of 30pc are required to form a trade union.
The Cabinet also approved in principle the draft of Payra-Kuakata Development Authority Act, 2023.
The draft of Foreign Voluntary Organizations (Acquisition of Immovable Assets Regulation) Act, 2023 also got final approval with a provision that such organisations can’t acquire immovable assets without permission of the government.
Source: BSS