New ordinance to make use of national ID cards mandatory
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
New legislation for the national identity (ID) card project has been prepared, which will make use of the ID cards mandatory in a range of situations, an official said Tuesday.
Members of the public will be required to produce their national ID cards for 22 different purposes including applications for passports and driving licences as well as admission to educational institutions, reports bdnews24.com.
Further areas where the ID cards will be required are registering for examinations, opening bank accounts and taking water, electricity and gas connections.
Taking a loan from any organisation, buying land, buying and selling vehicles and filing legal cases will also come under the purview of the proposed ordinance.
The proposed law will also see those found guilty of providing false information, concealing information or collecting more than one ID card liable to imprisonment and a fine, the official said.
The responsibility of preparing the new national ID cards now lies with the Election Commission (EC), although it will pass to the Ministry of Home Affairs in future.
At present only those eligible to become voters are receiving national ID cards, although all citizens are ultimately to be brought under the scheme in phases.
The EC prepared the draft national ID ordinance with the planning commission before sending it to the ministry for scrutiny last year.
Sheikh Abdur Rashid, additional secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the news agency Tuesday: "The National Identity Registration Authority Ordinance is being formulated with the aim of giving ID cards to all citizens in the country."
"The draft of the ordinance is now awaiting approval of the council of advisers", Rashid said.
According to the proposed ordinance, any person violating the law will be liable to a maximum of six months simple imprisonment or a fine of up to Tk 50,000 or both, the additional secretary said.
Election Commissioner Muhammad Sohul Hossain said: "The EC has already given specific suggestions for the draft of the national ID card ordinance."
Md Asaduzzaman, public relations officer at the EC Secretariat, told the news agency that more than 44.5 million voters out of estimated 80 million voters had been registered throughout the country until March 7.
National ID cards for 8,262,705 of the voters have been prepared, while ID cards have been distributed among 5,491,798 individuals, Asaduzzaman said.
Members of the public will be required to produce their national ID cards for 22 different purposes including applications for passports and driving licences as well as admission to educational institutions, reports bdnews24.com.
Further areas where the ID cards will be required are registering for examinations, opening bank accounts and taking water, electricity and gas connections.
Taking a loan from any organisation, buying land, buying and selling vehicles and filing legal cases will also come under the purview of the proposed ordinance.
The proposed law will also see those found guilty of providing false information, concealing information or collecting more than one ID card liable to imprisonment and a fine, the official said.
The responsibility of preparing the new national ID cards now lies with the Election Commission (EC), although it will pass to the Ministry of Home Affairs in future.
At present only those eligible to become voters are receiving national ID cards, although all citizens are ultimately to be brought under the scheme in phases.
The EC prepared the draft national ID ordinance with the planning commission before sending it to the ministry for scrutiny last year.
Sheikh Abdur Rashid, additional secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the news agency Tuesday: "The National Identity Registration Authority Ordinance is being formulated with the aim of giving ID cards to all citizens in the country."
"The draft of the ordinance is now awaiting approval of the council of advisers", Rashid said.
According to the proposed ordinance, any person violating the law will be liable to a maximum of six months simple imprisonment or a fine of up to Tk 50,000 or both, the additional secretary said.
Election Commissioner Muhammad Sohul Hossain said: "The EC has already given specific suggestions for the draft of the national ID card ordinance."
Md Asaduzzaman, public relations officer at the EC Secretariat, told the news agency that more than 44.5 million voters out of estimated 80 million voters had been registered throughout the country until March 7.
National ID cards for 8,262,705 of the voters have been prepared, while ID cards have been distributed among 5,491,798 individuals, Asaduzzaman said.