The National Parliament on Tuesday passed the Gazipur Unnayan Kartripakkha Bill 2020 aimed at developing the fast-growing industrial town into a modern planned city which would also be environment-friendly.
Sharif Ahmed, State Minister for Public Works and Housing, moved the Bill and it was passed by voice vote amid strong protests by the opposition lawmakers. They opposed the bill concerning possible mismanagement among other development bodies including the city corporation with the newly formed authority. Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury was in the chair during the session.
The opposition members justified that formation of a separate body under a new law will not be helpful for the people as it is widely believed that the formation of a separate entity with the name of Gazipur Development Authority or GDA, which is 56.32 kms away from the capital city, would cause huge wastage of the government exchequer.
The state minister, however, believed that the proposed authority with an area of 1741.53 square kms, will help to build a modern city and ensure the planned development of the region.
Protesting the passage of the bill, opposition member Fakhrul Imam of Mymensingh-8 said the endorsement of the law will weaken the local government authority as the bill has been passed after long six-years since it was placed in 2014.
The coordination between the Gazipur City Corporation and the newly formed body is not at all clear, another opposition lawmaker Pir Fazlur Rahman of Sunamganj-4 told the parliament, adding “It is widely speculated that such disintegration will waste huge public money.”.
“There are no necessities of forming a separate body in the same region where a local government entity—city corporation- is still functioning”, said Shameem Haider Patwary of Gaibandha-1.
Rumeen Farhana, a BNP lawmaker, told the House that the formation of a new authority will create a ‘tug of war’ with the city corporation.
Other opposition lawmakers Kazi Feroz Rashid of Dhaka-6, Mujibul Haque Chunnu of Kishorganj-3 and BNP lawmaker Harunur Rashid of Chapainawabganj-3 also spoke on the issue.
Earlier, the cabinet had approved a draft of the bill and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally approved the draft bill in the cabinet meeting last year.
“GDA will be like the Chittagong Development Authority (CDA), Khulna Development Authority (KDA), and Rajshahi Development Authority (RDA), according to the bill.
The main job of the development authority is to formulate the mega plan for city development and approve structural designs, the minister told the parliament, saying a 22-member board, headed by a chairman, will run the affairs of GDA.
Later, two more bills – titled, ‘Bangladesh Engineering Research Council Bill, 2020’ and ‘Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurement Bill, 2020’ were also passed in the parliament.
