Inter-ministerial disputes to be solved through arbitration
The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal to constitute committees to prevent government agencies from filing civil lawsuits against each other.
The inter-ministerial legal assistance committees and the cabinet committee will settle disputes through negotiations, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters.
The legal assistance committee will be known as the secretary-level committee, and it will receive complaints from ministries. On the other hand, the cabinet committee will be known as the ministerial committee or appeal committee and will resolve dispute through negotiation if the secretary-level committee fails to do so, he said.
The secretary-level committee will comprise five members headed by the secretary (reforms and coordination) of the Cabinet Division. Secretaries or representatives of the ministries involved in the dispute, the law secretary, and a representative of the Prime Minister's Office will be members of the committee, Alam said.
It will primarily provide legal assistance to settle disputes among the ministries concerned, he added.
A senior minister will head the eight-member ministerial committee in which ministers or state ministers of the ministries concerned and the cabinet secretary, and the principal secretary, among others, will be its members, said the cabinet secretary. “The initiative has been taken at the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to avoid confrontation among ministries,” he said, adding that a circular would be issued soon to this effect.
The cabinet also approved the draft of "Bangladesh Bridges Authority Act-2015" empowering the Bridges Authority to construct and maintain bridges measuring 1.5km in length or more, flyovers, tunnels, expressways, elevated expressways, causeways, and ring roads in the country.
The Bridges Authority will have the jurisdiction to fix and realise tolls or fees from organisations, transports and individuals for using establishments or part of establishments under it, added Alam.
Under the law, a 15-member administrative board will be formed with the road transport and bridges minister as its chairman and secretary of the ministry as vice-chairman to oversee the activities of the Bridges Authority.
Under the proposed law, the authority can impose a fine up to Tk 10,000 for creating any obstruction to vehicular movement, damaging any boundary wall or road signs, he said.
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