The Council of Advisers yesterday in principle approved the Bangladesh Abandoned Property Amendment Ordinance to serve as a guideline to manage the confiscation of immovable assets.
The cabinet gave its approval in a meeting of the council of advisers, headed by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, last night at the Chief Adviser's Office, a state press release said.
Despite a large number of confiscation orders handed down by special courts dealing with graft cases, lack of specific information what to do afterwards with the properties is causing difficulties.
The special courts have so far ordered confiscation of property worth about Tk 500 crore.
The ordinance provides guidelines for better management of the confiscation of immovable property or assets ordered by courts, tribunals or any other legal commission.
Sources say the management of immovable property will be entrusted to four ministries under four categories.
The home ministry will be given the management of confiscated houses, the industries ministry of confiscated industries, the land ministry with land and the commerce ministry with business centres.
Meanwhile, the cabinet has also decided to give conditional licenses to factories built on private land in the Bhawal National Park between November 22, 1999 and June 29, 2006.
The government ban on building factories on private land -- according to latest land surveys -- can be relaxed under the Bangladesh Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973. But each factory must have its own approach road and factories must have an operating effluent treatment plant.
The cabinet also approved a memorandum of understanding between the US Energy Department and the Shipping Ministry to install a machine at Chittagong Port to stop smuggling of nuclear and radioactive material.