Youth organisation chiefs who fail to register their groups with the government could face six months’ imprisonment or a Tk50,000 fine according to a draft law approved by Cabinet yesterday.
The draft bill covers the obligations of youth organisations to register with the government and names penalties for violating the law.
Violators may face abolition in some circumstances, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain said.
Cabinet approved the draft Youth Organisation (Registration and Operation) Act, 2015, at a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Musharraf confirmed the approval of the draft bill and told journalists the law had been approved in principle on January 20 last year. After the bill is passed in the house, government will promulgate rules to govern youth organisations, he said.
Musharraf said the draft bill requires youth organisations to register with the Youth Development Directorate. Currently youth organisations register under the Social Welfare Directorate.
Existing organisations would have to obtain a certificate from the Social Welfare Directorate within six months of the new law being passed to prove that they were previously registered.
The cabinet secretary said some 14,000 youth organisations currently operate across the country.