The cabinet yesterday approved the draft of Bangladesh Bridges Authority Act 2014, which was firstly enacted as the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge Authority Act in 1985 during the time of military rule.
As per the amended law, the Bangladesh Bridges Authority (BBA) would function under the Bangladesh Bridges Authority Board, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the media after a regular meeting at the Secretariat. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting.
The communications minister would chair the board and the BBA executive director would be its chief, said Musharraf.
The act, enacted in 1985, was amended later in 1996, 1998 and 2009. The third amendment authorised the BBA to build and repair the bridges 1,500 metres and above in length.
The cabinet also decided to form a three-member committee to resolve the confusion between Local Government Division and the Roads Division over the authority on bridges smaller than 1,500 metres.
The committee would comprise Secretary Abul Kalam Azad of the Prime Minister’s Office, Local Government Division’s Monzur Hossain and Roads Division’s MAN Siddique, said cabinet Secretary Musharraf. The committee would allocate jurisdiction on the bridges and suggest ways and means of removing any confusion regarding which department has authority on the bridges, he said.
The cabinet meeting was also notified about the meeting of the Saarc cabinet secretaries and youth and sports ministers of the OIC countries held in Jeddah from March 17 to 19.