Cabinet clears draft bill for 50pc allowance for higher court judges

The Cabinet cleared on Monday the draft of the Supreme Court Judges (Remuneration and Privileges) (Amendment) Bill, 2014 with a provision to provide 50 per cent special allowance to higher court judges, reports UNB.
The approval was given at the regularly weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the Law and Justice Division came up with the proposal for amending the existing law to provide 50 per cent special allowance to the Supreme Court judges of their basic salaries.
Replying to a question, he said that only the Supreme Court judges will be entitled to get the special allowance under the proposed amendment to the law while the judges of the lower courts would not come under this law.
He said the Cabinet also said that this provision of giving special allowance to the Supreme Court judges is very much rationale.
The day's Cabinet meeting also approved in principle the draft of the 'Youth Organisation (Registration and Control) Act, 2013' enabling the Department of Youth Development to issue registrations and look after the activities of the country's some 14,000 enlisted youth organisations in a bid to build the country's young generation as a productive force.
The Cabinet Secretary said the Social Welfare Department was earlier used to issue the registrations to the countrywide youth organisations.
Under the proposed law, a provision has been kept for dissolution of an organization if it is proved dysfunctional or resorted to irregularities as well as a provision of self-dissolution prior to approval of the concerned Department of Youth Department.
Besides, the proposed law kept a provision of maximum six months jail, Tk 50,000 fine or both if any organization breaches the condition of registration or provides false information.
To promote and support the activities of the different youth organisations, Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said there will be a National Youth Council, headed by the concerned State Minister while there will be an Advisory Council, headed by the Prime Minister.
The government can also formulate rules and regulations to make effective the proposed law while the Director General of the Department of Youth Development at the central level and the Deputy Directors at district level being empowered by the DG will be the registration-providing authorities.
A report on the progress of implementation of Cabinet decisions on the 4th quarter of 2013 (October-December) period was placed before the day's Cabinet meeting where the Cabinet expressed its satisfaction over the overall performance.
Hasina also thanked the officials concerned of the ministries and divisions for the overall successes.
Comparing the implementation status of Cabinet decisions in the five years of the immediate past government with the five years of the previous BNP-Jamaat alliance government, it was found that some 1,508 cabinet decisions in 228 meetings were undertaken from January 6, 2009 to December, 31, 2013 with some 1,427 decisions implemented with a success rate of 94.63 per cent.
Forty-nine policies and strategies were approved during that tenure with 118 agreements and MoUs getting approved while the number of endorsed laws stood at 271.
Meanwhile, during the tenure from October, 10, 2001 to October 3, 2006, some 745 cabinet decisions were taken in 208 meetings with some 611 decisions implemented having a success rate of 82 per cent.
Besides, some 27 strategies and policies were approved along with ratification of 68 deals and MoUs and passage of 175 laws.
The cabinet was also apprised about the meeting of the Commonwealth finance ministers and high officials held on October 9-14 in 2013 and the participation of a Bangladesh delegation in the annual meeting of the World Bank and IMF.
Ministers, advisers to the Prime Minister and state ministers concerned attended the meeting, while the secretaries concerned were present.