Special Correspondent :
The Cabinet has taken two major decisions — a draft law approved keeping provision a maximum of five years imprisonment and a Tk10 lakh as fine for unauthorized food production, and not to build any road in haor or low lying areas from now on.
The decision was taken at the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The issue of submergence of haor crops due to early monsoon, upstream rain waters and floods has been discussed in the cabinet meeting.
It was decided not to build roads in the haor area and from now everything will have to be elevated road. At the same time, it has been decided to excavate the haors which is filled with silt.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam briefed the media at the Secretariat after the meeting.
However, the Cabinet has approved a draft law under which those involved in unauthorized production of food, its storage, transfer, transportation, supply, distribution and marketing will get a maximum of five years imprisonment and a Tk10 lakh as fine.
The draft law – “Production, Storage, Transfer, Transport, Supply, Distribution and Marketing (Prevention of Harmful Activities) of Food Products Act 2022” was given approval in principle at the Cabinet meeting held on Monday at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The Cabinet Secretary said that the draft law was tabled before the Cabinet to prevent harmful activities in food production and supply chain, including adulteration and conversion of the standard of the products.
At the same time, those who will mix up harmful elements or chemicals, create artificial crisis of food for hoarding for additional profits or any other offenses relevant with food items will also be punished under the new law. The punishments of almost all offenses would be similar, he added.
The Cabinet Secretary said that the offenders would be tried at Mobile Courts and Safe Food Tribunals for breaching the provisions of the law. It would help the authorities to prevent food adulteration,
artificial crisis of foods and mixing chemicals in the food products. The draft law would be sent to the Law Ministry for its opinion and after some necessary corrections, the draft law would be tabled before the Cabinet soon for final approval, he said, adding that once the Cabinet clears it finally, it would be sent to the Parliament for passage.
The Cabinet Secretary said, it has also been directed to the authorities concerned to check whether there is any obstruction water flow due to construction of Mithamoin-Ashtagram road. If necessary, it has been decided to build bridges on that road frequently, he added.
According to Khandker Anwarul Islam, “it was clearly decided that no road will be constructed in Haor areas from now in today’s meeting. If anything will be constructed like roads, it has to be done in an elevated way. So that the flow of water is not been obstructed.”
