PRS Parliament Diary
Winter Session-II: February 17-20, 2014
The second week of the 2014 Winter Session saw a jump in activity in
Parliament.
Legislation
The 15th Lok Sabha has passed a total of 175 Bills. 10 Bills have been passed
since the beginning of the Winter 2014 Session. 5 were Finance and
Appropriation Bills, while 5 were legislative Bills.The
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was
also passed by the Lok Sabha today.
The 5 Legislative Bills passed were:
The
Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
Bill, 2013
The
National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment)
Bill, 2013
The
Governors (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Bill, 2013
The
Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University Bill, 2012
The
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 was passed by the
Rajya Sabha today.
Main Features of the Bill are mentioned below:
- The Andhra Pradesh
Reorganisation Bill, 2014 was introduced in Lok Sabha on February 13, 2014
by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde. The Bill
was passed in Lok Sabha on February 18, 2014 with several amendments. The
Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on February 20, 2014. - The Bill provides for the
reorganisation of the state of Andhra Pradesh. It creates two
states, namely Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. - Composition of
Telangana and its capital: The Bill stated that the newly formed
state of Telangana will comprise of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Medak,
Nizamabad, Warangal, Rangareddi, Nalgonda,
Mahbubnagar, Khammam and Hyderabad
districts. The LS amended this to exclude certain revenue villages
in Khammam district. - The Bill states that
central government will constitute an expert committee to make
recommendations for an appropriate capital for Andhra Pradesh, within
forty five days from this Act coming in to force. The Lok Sabha has
extended this time period to six months. - Representation in
the Legislative Assembly: With regard to the Second schedule to
the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Bill states that the total
number of seats for Andhra Pradesh would be 175 and for Telangana would be
119. The Lok Sabha amendments also specify that for Andhra Pradesh,
the seats reserved for SCs would be 29, and for STs would be 7. Further,
for the state of Telangana, the number of seats for SCs would be 19 and
STs would be 12. - Provisional’ status
of Legislative Assembly and Council: The Lok Sabha amendments
have modified sections related to the Legislative Assembly (LA) and
Legislative Council (LC) of Telangana, to remove its provisional
status. Consequently, provisions related to the composition of such
‘provisional’ assembly have been deleted. - Speaker and Deputy
Speaker of the LA: The Bill stated that until the Telangana
provisional Legislative Assembly chooses its Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
the Governor may appoint members of the Assembly to play that role.
The Lok Sabha amendments state that the Andhra Pradesh Assembly shall
choose its Deputy Speaker, who will also play the role of Speaker of the
Telangana Assembly, until a Speaker is appointed. - Chairman, Deputy
Chairman and Rules of Procedure of the LC: According to the Bill,
the Legislative Councils of the successor states would each choose a
member to be Chairman of the Council. The Lok Sabha amendments have
included a procedure similar to that of appointment of Speaker. - The Lok Sabha amendments
introduce a provision specifying that the rules of procedure and conduct
of business of the present Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh will also
apply to the Legislative Council of Telangana until its own rules are
made. - Revenue
Distribution and Special Development Package: The Bill states
that the resources allocated by the 13th Finance Commission to the
existing state of Andhra Pradesh will be apportioned between the two
successor states on the basis of population ratio and other
parameters. The Lok Sabha amendments include a proviso that the
President shall also make a reference to the 14th Finance Commission to
make separate allocations for each of the successor states, after taking
into account their current resources. - The LS amendments also
state that the central government shall ensure that adequate benefits in
the form of special development package are given to the backward areas of
the successor state of Andhra Pradesh. This shall include special
incentives for Rayalseema and north coastal regions of the state. - Polavaram
Irrigation Project: Under the Bill, the central government will
execute the irrigation project in consultation with the governments of
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The LS amendment modifies this provision,
which states that the central government shall assume that the new state
of Telangana has given its consent for the irrigation project.
Productivity
The extended Winter Session of Parliament started on the February 5,
2014. In the ten sittings since then, Lok Sabha has lost 88% of scheduled time
to disruptions, while the Rajya Sabha has lost 85% of scheduled time to
disruptions.
A breakdown of productivity from the 3rd to the current Lok Sabha can be
seen here and that of the different sessions of the 15th Lok
Sabha can be
seen here.