THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-touted Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) Bill is likely to be tabled in the Assembly during the session beginning on Monday. The Bill is for the constitution of UMTA and regulation of development, operation, maintenance, monitoring, supervision and the provision of urban transport in urban mobility area.
Assembly sources said a decision on tabling the Bill will be decided by after the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee(BAC).
“The presentation of the UMTA Bill is top priority. Since the Select Committee sitting on the Bill has completed its job, it has been included in the priority list. But a decision on its tabling will depend on the BAC’s recommendations ,” said Transport Minister A K Saseendran, who is also a member of the committee. A fellow BAC member, though, said uncertainty continues to dog the the Bill’s tabling in the House as the Speaker’s Office is yet to intimate the date on which the BAC will be convened.
“The Bill will not come up for discussion in the first three days of the 15th session as the first day is for obituary reference, second day for the presentation of the amendment made to the Kerala Medical Education (Regulation and Control of admissions to private medical institutions) Act, 2017 and the third day will witness discussion and voting on demands for grants in the 2019-20 budget,” said the member. Further, the member said the BAC is most likely to convene on June 10 and it will be only after that the call on tabling the UMTA Bill will be taken.
P J Joseph’s elevation: Speaker leaves it to KC(M)
T’Puram: The row on elevating P J Joseph as the Leader of the Kerala Congress (M) Parliamentary Party has taken a new turn, with the Office of the Speaker informing that the seat of the Parliamentary Party(PP) Leader in the front row of the Assembly will not be left vacant. P J Joseph can occupy the seat in his capacity as the Deputy Leader of the Party in the Assembly. But, the party is free to decide its Parliamentary Party Leader in the assembly, according to the Office of the Speaker.
House to convene today