Govt lists 5 new, 13 pending Bills for winter session starting Monday

The government has listed a total of 18 Bills, including 13 pending ones, in its tentative list of business sent to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats

The government has listed five new Bills to be introduced in the Winter Session of Parliament, which begins on Monday. It has also listed the Waqf Amendment Bill for the consideration and passing by the two Houses after the joint committee submits its report during the session.

 

A Bill based on the Ram Nath Kovind committee report on “one nation one election”, which the Union cabinet has approved, does not feature in the government’s list of business. However, government sources have claimed that it could introduce the Bill during the session. The Winter Session will have 19 sittings and is scheduled to conclude on December 20.

 

 

The government has listed a total of 18 Bills, including 13 pending ones, in its tentative list of business to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats. The new Bills include the Coastal Shipping Bill. It seeks to promote coasting trade and encourage participation of Indian flag vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for national security and commercial needs.

 

The Indian Ports Bill, also a new Bill, will be introduced with the objective to put in place measures to secure conservation of ports, security and pollution control at the ports in line with India’s international obligations and statutory compliance. The government has proposed to introduce the Merchant Shipping Bill to ensure compliance with India’s obligation under maritime treaties, development of Indian shipping, and efficient maintenance of Indian mercantile marine.

 

The government has proposed to introduce a Bill to set up the Rashtriya Sahakari Vishwavidyalaya. It has also proposed the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to amend Section 39(1)(a) of the Punjab Courts Act, 1918, to enhance the pecuniary appellate jurisdiction of Delhi District Courts from existing Rs 300,000 to Rs 2 million. The government will also seek Parliament’s approval for the first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2024-25.

 

On Thursday, at a meeting of the joint committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Opposition members demanded that the panel’s tenure be extended. They argued that they need more time to study the changes to the draft legislation. The government introduced the Bill during the monsoon session, which the Lok Sabha referred to the joint committee, instructing it to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the Winter Session.

 

At the committee meeting, the panel’s chairman, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Jagdambika Pal, announced that Thursday's meeting would be the last sitting of the panel and a draft report would be circulated to the members shortly. This led to protests by the Opposition members, who resorted to sloganeering and some of them called Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and sought his intervention in the matter.

 

Some of the pending Bills in the Lok Sabha, apart from the Waqf Amendment Bill, are 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. The three Bills pending in the Rajya Sabha are the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, Boilers Bill, and the Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak Bill.