Tolls to be imposed on some highways

The Cabinet Division yesterday approved the final draft of "Highway Act 2021" with the provision of a maximum of two years' imprisonment for violation of the act.

The act allows the authorities concerned to formulate rules and regulate transport movements.

"Which transport will be allowed on the highway will be defined by the rules," said Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam at a briefing at the secretariat.

Saying that tolls may be imposed for using some highways, he said the rate will also be fixed according to the rules under the act.

The briefing was held following a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Anwarul said the cabinet gave the final approval to the draft of the Highways Bill, 2021 in order to have a full-fledged law replacing a century-old law.

"There's a law of 1925 (The Highways Act, 1925), which has only five clauses and is not adequate to deal with maintenance, management and construction (of the highways)," he said.

He said provisions of punishment have been kept as well in case of violation of the proposed law. "The punishment would be a maximum two years' jail or Tk 5,000-Tk 5 lakh fine," he said.

"There's no comprehensive highway management law in Bangladesh. So, the proposed law was prepared," said the cabinet secretary.

The current law has only five sections -- title, extent and commencement, definition, temporary closing of government roads, power to make rules, and penalties. The new law will have 20.

Anyone who erects a permanent or makeshift structure or sets up a market on the highway without prior approval may face a maximum of two years in prison or a fine between Tk 50,000 and Tk 5 lakh, or both.

The act was prepared with an aim to make the construction, development and maintenance of highways timely and to ensure discipline and safety of vehicular movement, he said.

Under it, even utility service providers -- both public and private -- may face similar punishments if they install utility services without prior approval, because such unapproved works would be considered "invasion".

Anyone operating a slow-moving vehicle on roads without a dedicated lane or driving a vehicle that is unable to meet the minimum speed limit will be fined, as per the new law.

There are some 22,361km of highways -- 3,943km of national highways, 4,882km of regional highways and 13,536km of district highways -- under the department, according to RHD's 2019-20 annual report.

As per the Highway Act 1925, all "government roads" are under Public Works Department (PWD). But the situation is different in reality. For decades, they have been under the jurisdiction of RHD.

On one hand, the number and usage of highways has increased since 1925, and on the other, many developments like expressways, controlled-access highways and toll roads have surfaced in the road sector.