Dhaka, Aug. 19 -- The Cabinet on Monday approved in principle the draft of 'Mongla Port Authority Bill, 2019' with a provision to give tougher punishment for polluting the environment.

The approval came from the Cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office.

"The bill was placed in the cabinet aiming to abolish the Chalna Port Authority Ordinance 1976 as it was promulgated during a military regime," said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam while briefing reporters at the Secretariat.

As per the bill, the punishment for harming the environment by polluting water, land and coast has been raised to a one-year imprisonment or a fine of Tk five lakh or both, he said. The fine is Tk 50,000 in the exist...