The Jatiya Sangsad yesterday passed the Khagrachhari Hill District Local Government Council (Amendment) Bill, 1998.

The bill on Khagrachhari hili district and a similar bill on Bandarban hill district were earlier accepted by the Sangsad on Sunday for immediate consideration. The Rangamati Hill District Local Government Council (Amendment) Bill, 1998. was passed on that day.

The bill on Khagrachhari was passed at 8:40 pm yesterday by voice vote with Jatiya Party lawmakers voting against it.

Legislators belonging to the main opposition BNP did not attend proceedings of the House yesterday. On Sunday, they walked out of the House twice and did not return till adjournment of the session last night.

In the absence of Law. Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Abdul Matin Khasru. Deputy Leader of the House and LG RD and Cooperatives Minister Zillur Rahman proposed passage of the bill on Kha-grachnari.

Before Suranjit Sengupta of the Treasury Bench and Md Shahadat Hossain of Jatiya

Party spoke briefly on their proposed amendments to the bill. Two amendments proposed by Sengupta were accepted by the House by voice vote for inclusion in the bill.

Earlier, the Speaker named over 50 lawmakers belonging to AL. BNP and JP to speak briefly on their respective amendment notices. But. except Sengupta and Shahadat. there was none to speak.

The two amendments pro-Bjsed by Sengupta and by the ouse accepted concern articles 26 and 64 of the bill. In Article 26. it was said earlier that "Khagrachhari Mong Chief' and "Rangamati Chakma Chief coulcfjoin meetings of the hill council. Now. in the amended form, the words "Khagrachhari" and "Rangamati" were dropped.

In Article 64. it was said earlier that the general bar on land transfer without prior approval of the hill council would not be applicable on lands recorded in the names of the government or the local authority. In the amended form, the words "or the local authority" were dropped.

Before, the bill was passed. Zillur Rahman spoke briefly, responding to amendment notices.

He accepted the two amendments proposals by Sengupta and rejected those by Shahadat Hossain, saying those were not worthy of being incorporated in the bill.

Zillur Rahman said that the three original bills on three hill district councils were first conceived by the Ershad regime and later those were amended four times during the rule of Begum Khaleda Zia. But. he added, "those could not bring any good to the hill people."

Zillur claimed that the then Prime Minister Begum Zia had agreed to give full autonomy to the CHT but "we succeeded in striking out a peace agreement giving much lesser concessions."