The Road Maintenance Fund Board Law 2013 is now in limbo as the government after its passage in parliament on July 14 last year has virtually done nothing for its implementation.
The government in a gazette on November 20 declared that the law would come into effect from December 1. It says the fund will be collected from tolls of roads and bridges, fees of transports registration and licenses and foreign donations.
To this end, the toll policy 2014 was supposed to be implemented in a bid to channeling more fund to road repairs.
The policy was also supposed to raise the toll to over Tk500 crore from that of existing Tk350-360 crore and also bring discipline in collecting toll.
The toll collected from roads and bridges has so far gone to the Finance Ministry fund and road maintenance has never got any preferential treatment.
The law was passed to avoid delay in releasing fund to repairs to roads damaged frequently across the country.
As per the law, the fund collected from tolls of roads and bridges was to go to a separate bank account paving the way for quick release of fund.
Before its implementation there has to be a governing body to manage and maintain the fund to run its administration, the gazette says. But the body is yet to be formed.
Secretary MAN Siddique said: “We have published the gazette notification to bring the law into action.
“We demanded that the Finance Ministry open a separate bank account. Accordingly, we will then send directives to the BRTA and the Roads and Highways Department to deposit the money in the separate account.
“At the same time the board will be formed and guidelines be put forward.”
As the law prescribes, the road maintenance fund managing committee will be headed by the secretary of Road Transport and Highways Department.
The other members will include Bridges Division secretary, joint secretary of Finance Division, joint secretary of Road Transport Division, infrastructure chief of Planning Commission, chairman of BRTA, executive director of DTCA, chief Engineer of Department of Roads and Highways and experts of Buet.
