DHAKA, Nov 13, 2017 (BSS) – The government is set to repeal the existing ‘Sugar (road development cess ordinance) to relieve sugarcane growers from paying taxes for development of the roads in the sugar mill catchment areas.
“The decision was taken in the weekly meeting of the cabinet held at Prime Minister Office (PMO) here today with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair,” cabinet secretary Shafiul Alam told a media briefing after the meeting.
The cabinet, he said, simultaneously approved the draft of the Sugar (Road Development Cess Act, 2017″ to replace the 1960 sugar law.
Alam said the 1960 law appeared obsolete and dysfunctional as roads in the sugar mill areas are constructed and maintained by different government departments, agencies and local government bodies while the sugarcane growers needed to pay the unjustified taxes.
The cabinet today also approved the draft of the ‘Abhawa Ain, 2017’, first any legal framework in the country to deal with the issues relating to the meteorological activities.
“It is a long waited law which will give the Department of Meteorology a legal shape, sorting out the activities and services of the department, which mainly deal with the forecasting the natural disasters and everyday weather patterns,” he said.
The cabinet secretary said the proposed law defined the term ‘meteorology’and ‘meteorological phenomenon’, tsunami, earthquake and other natural disasters.
“The law has defined the eligibility of the persons to be considered as the meteorological scientists,” he said.
According to the law, all atmospheric events happened within space and beyond will be considered as the meteorological phenomenon and the law the meteorological department will have the authority to take training and research programme for capacity building of the concerned manpower.