Two important Bills passsed in Bengal Assembly ahead of polls

The West Bengal Valuation Board (Amendment) Bill, 2016, and The West Bengal Correctional Services (Amendment) Bill, 2016, were today passed during the last day of the session in the state Assembly before the election.

Replying on the West Bengal Valuation Board (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in the House, state Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said that this Bill would now provide improved services through an uniform and rational system of valuation of properties throughout the state.

Hakim further said that such an amendment was also necessary for empowering the state government to determine the term of the office of the chairman and members of the Board.

This was also done keeping in view the necessity to provide civic services in the public interest, the minister said.

Secondly, The West Bengal Correctional Services (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was also passed in the House for improved administration in the correctional homes in the state.

Replying on this Bill in the House, state Correctional Homes Administration Minister H A Safwi said that this amendment in the Bill was necessary in connection to certain functions of correctional homes such as implementing the sentences passed by the court, after-care services, court production in certain cases and execution of sentences, apart from normal function of keeping prisoners in custody.

This amendment in the Bill would also help to identify a prisoner by biometric method and reduce human errors in finding out particulars of a prisoners, the minister said.

It would also help allow a female prisoner, who has a child and has been arrested on a criminal charge, to retain the child with herself till the child attains the age of six years instead of five years, he added.