The cabinet on Monday approved in principle the draft of Bangladesh Tour Operator (Registration and Operation) Bill 2020 in a bid to bring the country’s tour operators under a registration process.
The approval came from the weekly cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, in Dhaka, reports UNB.
“No tour operator can run without registration. If anyone does, it would be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure,” Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam told reporters at the secretariat after the meeting.
“Now, there’s no guideline and rule for tour operators in the country,” he said, adding that the conditions for getting registration, period of registration and provisions for cancellation of registration have been mentioned in the bill.
“It has precisely been defined in the bill that who can be tour operators and tour guides,” he said.
The cabinet secretary said once the bill is passed, it will make tour operators operate properly within legal framework, the tourism sector will flourish, the revenue of government will increase and it will be easier to avail the tour services.
The cabinet on Monday also approved in principle the draft of Bangladesh National Achieves Bill 2020 with a view to create scopes for the massive use of information technology and capacity building in archiving activities.
The bill will replace the National Archives Ordinance 1983, Secretary Anwarul said.
According to the proposed law, the head of National Archives will be the director general (DG) instead of director, which is the existing post, he said, adding that the DG has, however, been given the authority to destroy any document.
If the bill is passed, it will expand the scopes to collect information from the archives and conduct research, he added.
The cabinet secretary said if anyone willingly distorts records, documents, newspaper reports, maps, scripts or evidence preserved in the archives, the person will have to face a three-year imprisonment as per the proposed law.
Meanwhile, the cabinet cleared also the draft of the president’s speech to be delivered in the special session of parliament summoned on the occasion of Mujib Year, marking the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
“The speech will focus on Bangabandhu’s life and political philosophy, his role as a parliamentarian, his role to govern the country, and his works for the wellbeing of people,” said Anwarul.
President Md Abdul Hamid will address the parliament at the outset of its two-day special session beginning on March 22 to celebrate the Mujib Year.
