NEW DELHI: The Modi government is set to introduce 15 Bills — including five new legislations — during the winter session of Parliament that begins on Monday. It has also listed the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 for the consideration and passing by the two Houses, after the joint parliamentary committee submits its report during the session. The five new draft legislations include the one to set up a cooperative university.
All eyes will be on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which was sent to a Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) after it was introduced in Lok Sabha during the monsoon session.
The panel is mandated to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session. The current session is expected to witness stormy scenes as the Opposition parties have already sought an extension of tenure of the JPC scrutinising the Waqf Bill. Opposition parties and Muslim bodies have opposed several of the proposed amendments in the new Bill.
While it was highly speculated that the ‘One nation One Election’ Bill will be introduced in the winter session, it did not figure in the list.
A total of 16 Bills, including 11 pending ones, are part of the tentative list of legislations submitted to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats by the government.
The other Bills listed by the government for introduction, consideration and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill to enhance the pecuniary (the monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the existing `3 lakh to `20 lakh.
The Merchant Shipping Bill, also a new draft law planned by the government, seeks to ensure compliance with India’s obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party.
Besides, the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and eventual passage. Last month, the Union Cabinet approved the Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024. If the Bill becomes a law, it will remove the requirement for Indian-flagged vessels to acquire a general trading licence to operate on coastal water.
The Indian Ports Bill is aimed at putting 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 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 redressal of port related disputes and to establish a national council for fostering structured growth and development of the port sector
As many as eight bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill are pending in Lok Sabha. Two others are with Rajya Sabha. 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.