The State Administration Council enacted the Rural Road Development Law under Article 419 of the Constitution on May 16. This law aims to ensure uninterrupted road transportation during natural disasters, to develop and sustain rural roads to improve the socio-economic life of rural people, and to improve road transportation in rural areas and promote all-round development.
According to the provisions of the law, the ministry shall draw up and implement rural road projects with the consent of the government and shall have the authority to acquire land and remove buildings necessary for rural road projects in accordance with existing laws. In addition, the law requires the department to issue necessary prohibitions to prevent damage to rural roads. The Rural Road Development Law also stipulates that rural residents will have the opportunity to discuss rural road projects when drawing up rural road projects and will have the opportunity ,under the ministry’s programs, to visit and observe rural road development initiatives at home and abroad.
Furthermore, the law states that , without the permission of the Department, anyone who crosses a rural road and carries out any excavation or construction, or in any way causes damage to the rural road shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or with a fine not less than fifty thousand kyats and not more than one hundred thousand kyats, or with both and shall be liable to compensation for the damage caused to the rural road. In addition, if a person is convicted of constructing a structure within the boundaries of a road without permission, he shall be liable to a fine not less than one hundred thousand kyats or not more than five hundred thousand kyats, and the structure shall be removed immediately at the expense of the builder.
The law stipulates that if the same offense is committed again, a minimum prison sentence of 6 months to a maximum of 1 year, and a fine of at least 100,000 kyats to a maximum of 1,000,000 kyats will be imposed. The Rural Road Development Law is enacted in 8 chapters, including the responsibilities and authority of Ministry and Department, and the responsibilities and entitlements of rural people.
