From now on, excessive hoarding of the food items than the amount set by government will be deemed as a criminal offence for which the life sentence or a 14-year of rigorous imprisonment has been proposed as the highest punishment.
Besides, the perpetrators will also be fined, which will be determined by the court.
The cabinet approved the draft of "Production, Storage, Transfer, Transport, Supply, Distribution and Marketing of Food (Prevention of Harmful Activities) Act, 2023' on Monday in a meeting at the national parliament building with prime minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Later the cabinet secretary Md Mahbub Hossain briefed the media about the decision at the secretariat in Dhaka.