Dhaka: The cabinet on Monday approved the draft of a law raising the compensation price of the lands three times in case of acquisition for public purposes or in public interests.

The cabinet in its weekly meeting approved in principle ‘the Acquisition and Requisition of

Immovable Property Act, 2016’ raising the compensation value of the land in case of acquisition.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the cabinet meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat.

However, the cabinet formed a committee headed by the law minister and secretaries of the land and defence ministries as members for further clarification of different aspects of the language and words of the law. If necessary the committee may include more members.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said the new law will replace ‘The Acquisition and Requisition of Immovable Property Ordinance, 1982’ which was made defunct by the Supreme Court in 2010 with other laws enacted during the military rulers.

The cabinet secretary said in the existing law one gets compensation equivalent to one and a half times of the land value in case of acquisition. The new law would raise the compensation three times, he said.

The draft of the law had been placed before the cabinet after translating it into Bangla as per directives of the Supreme Court, he said.

Shafiul Alam said the cabinet asked the committee headed by the law minister to explain more clearly two terminologies - ‘public purpose’ and ‘public interest’- used in the new law in pursuit of the observation of the High Court given earlier.

The cabinet also approved the draft of the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons Act, 2016 in Bangla which will replace the previous law titled- ‘Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons Order, 1972.’

The new law will help improve health care services through creating more specialist medical professionals through improved education and training, the cabinet secretary said.

The new law proposed formation of a 20-member council of the College for conducting FCPS and MCPS examinations and giving certificates to the successful candidates and a seven-member Executive Committee to conduct the regular activities of the college.

The council would also have the power to appoint examination boards for different examinations in addition to other activities. It will be constituted for a four-year term comprising 16 fellows and four nominees of the government. The President, Senior Vice President, Vice President, Treasurer of the council will be elected by the fellows as per rules of the act for two years.

The council would arrange post-graduate courses, research programmes, training programmes as well as symposium, workshop, exhibition and discussion for specialist physicians, post graduate students on specific topics related to all branches of the medical education, he said.

The cabinet approved the Palli Sanchaya Bank (amendment) Ordinance, 2016 in the form of an act without any amendment.

At the beginning of the meeting the cabinet unanimously adopted an obituary reference expressing profound condolences at the death of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, the cabinet secretary said.