Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday ordered the Railway Ministry officials to prepare a list of its properties in order to recover properties from illegal occupiers.
The instruction came at a cabinet meeting held at the secretariat yesterday where the ministry tabled drafts of the Railway Nirapotta Bahini (RNB) Act and the Railway Properties (Illegal Possession Recover) Act.
With Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, the cabinet approved the Security Force Act on condition of vetting of the Law Ministry while the Illegal Possession Recover Act was approved in principle.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said before sending to the parliament the Illegal Possession Recover Act would be tabled again after incorporating the observations of the cabinet while the draft of the RNB Act would be sent to the parliament upon vetting of the Law Ministry.
Both the drafts were prepared to legitimate the Railway Nirapotta Bahini Ordinance, 1976 and Railway Properties (Illegal Possession) Ordinance, 1979 that became invalid after the Supreme Court declared the two military regime in Bangladesh illegal.
The drafts specified definitions of railway assets, work distribution, passengers and passenger areas.
Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman who was present at the cabinet meeting, told the Dhaka Tribune that the premier had asked the ministers and officials of the railway ministry to find out the amount of illegally occupied properties.
The government would take necessary steps to recover the illegally occupied properties of the railway after getting the report. A task force might be formed to recover the properties from illegal occupants, he added.
