During the winter session of Parliament, which begins on Monday, the Modi administration plans to propose 15 bills, five of which would be new laws. It has also scheduled the controversial Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 for debate and passage by the two Houses when the joint parliamentary committee delivers its report during the session. The five new draft laws include one to establish a cooperative university.
All eyes will be on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was submitted to a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) after being tabled in Lok Sabha during the monsoon session.
The panel is required to submit its findings by the final day of the first week of the winter session. The current session is anticipated to be fraught with controversy, since opposition parties have already requested an extension of the JPC’s mandate in reviewing the Waqf Bill. Several of the new Bill’s proposed revisions have been contested by opposition parties and Muslim organization’s.
While it was widely expected that the ‘One Nation, One Election’ Bill would be introduced during the winter session, it did not appear on the agenda.
The administration has presented a provisional list of legislation to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats that includes 16 bills, 11 of which are currently pending.
The government has also placed the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill for introduction, discussion, and passage, which seeks to increase the pecuniary (monetary worth of a case) appeal jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the current ‘3 lakh’ to ’20 lakh’.
The Merchant Shipping Bill, a new draft law proposed by the government, aims to guarantee compliance with India’s obligations under marine treaties to which New Delhi is a party.
Additionally, the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have been scheduled for introduction and eventual passage. Last month, the Union Cabinet passed the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024. If the Bill becomes law, Indian-flagged vessels will no longer be required to get a general trading permit in order to operate on coastal waters.
The Indian Ports Bill aims to implement steps to ensure port conservation, security, and pollution management in accordance with India’s international commitments and statutory compliance. The Bill has been prepared to empower and establish State Maritime Boards for effective administration, control, and management of non-major ports in India; provide for adjudicatory mechanisms for resolving port-related disputes; and establish a national council to foster structured growth and development of the port sector.
There are now eight legislation pending in Lok Sabha, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill. Two others are in the Rajya Sabha. Aside from the Waqf Amendment Bill, other pending bills in the Lok Sabha include the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, the Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Tribes in Assembly Constituencies of Goa Bill, the Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill 2024, the Railways (Amendment) Bill, and the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill.
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Source: The Indian Express
