Bill to regularise illegal bldgs cleared a 2nd time,with changes

However,the Governor returned the Bill to the state Assembly,saying some of its provisions were not appropriate.

The Governor,while returning the Bill,had objected to the fact that the Bill had mentioned that the cut-off date for regularisation of unauthorised constructions would be decided by the state government on a later date.

Another point raised by the Governor was there was no provision for strict action against the government officials for allowing illegal construction in future.

The state urban development department on Monday re-introduced the Bill in the state Assembly with a cut-off date for regularising illegal construction till 28 March,2011 and also included the clause of taking strict action against those officials who are found guilty for allowing irregular constructions under their jurisdiction.

The Bill was passed unanimously by the House on voice vote as the Opposition Congress also extended its support to it saying that the Bill would benefit lakhs of people whose illegal construction would be regularised by payment of an impact fee.

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Arjun Modhvadia,who is also a MLA,said,”The state government should not charge impact fee from the people but instead charge it from builders or developers who have built illegal structures and (have) sold them to the people.”

State Urban Development Minister Nitin Patel,during the discussion on the Bill,alleged,”Last time,the Congress had supported the Bill and it was passed by the state Assembly unanimously,but later some leaders of the party went to meet the Governor (Dr Kamla) and stalled the Bill.”

He also accused the Congress of “doublespeak” on the issue of the Bill by supporting it in the state Assembly to gain votes but using their influence through Raj Bhavan and persuading the Governor to send the bill back.

To this,Congress leader Modhwadia replied that anybody can go to Governor’s House and present their point of view. He further said that if the earlier Bill was not faulty,then why the state government had made the necessary changes as suggested by the Governor in it now and presented it for the clearance of House.

2 more Bills passed

Two other Bills,Gujarat Private University (Amendment) Bill and Primary Education (Amendment) Bill,2011,were also passed by the Assembly.

The Primary University Bill,which is meant for giving university status to private education institutes,was reintroduced as the Governor had rejected it after it was passed in last Assembly session.

The Primary Education Act (Amendment) Bill,2011 is aimed at amending existing provisions of section 23 of the Gujarat Primary Education Act,1947. The Bill empowers a state-level staff committee for primary education to make selections for appointment of assistant education inspectors,supervisors,vidya sahayaks and primary teachers.

The government has introduced “The Gujarat Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 2011” in the state Assembly,which will be discussed on Tuesday. The Bills aim to control cow slaughter in state.