BJP govt bills that have hit the UPA wall

Kutch(Bombay) Inami Area Bill 2011: Pending with Governor. Seeks to abolish a 1958 Act that allows giving away land to landless labourers as ‘gifts’ in Kutch region.

Gujarat Unauthorised Development Regulation Bill,Gujarat Lokayukta Amendment Bill. Governor kept both pending,clearing them only after the government pushed them for a second time.

Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill,2003. Pending with President. Rejected once by the Governor and then by President A P J Abdul Kalam. The government then got the bill cleared in the Assembly by a majority vote,but the Governor rejected it again on the ground that there was no need for a separate law for terror as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was already in place at the Centre.

Gujarat Tenancy and Agricultural Land Laws(Amendment) Bill 2011. Pending with President. The Bill is aimed at giving automatic land clearance,without the state government’s permission,to public trusts for starting academic and health services.

Gujarat Land Fragmentation and Consolidation (Amendment) Bill 2011. Pending with President. The bill is aimed at relaxing restrictions related to sale of fragmented agriculture land areas.

Gujarat Education Institute Services Bill 2006. Pending with President. The Bill is aimed at starting a common educational institute tribunal for all education-related issues.

Bihar

Bihar State University Service Commission Bill,2011. Pending with Governor. Bill proposes to set up a university service commission to recruit and promote university teachers. The state government had dissolved such a commission in 2007,vesting appointment and promotion powers of teachers with a panel including the governor in his capacity as chancellor. A return to the old system will undermine the governor’s ex-officio position as chancellor. Passed in the budget session last March,before being sent to the governor.

Bihar University Tribunal Bill,2011. Pending with Governor. It proposes to curtail the number of court cases relating to university matters by setting up a university tribunal to look into such cases. Bill,sent to governor after budget session,was returned to HRD for modification,then sent back to him.

Bihar State School Teachers and Employees Dispute Redressal Tribunal Bill,2011. Pending with Governor since March 2011.

Bihar State University (Amendment) Bill,2010. Pending with Governor. It dilutes chancellor’s powers in appointment of vice chancellors and university teachers. Budget session passed it in 2010,it was returned to HRD on account of being a money bill,Speaker ruled otherwise,bill was again sent to the governor last August. Now pending on “technical grounds”.

Patna University (Amendment) Bill 2010. Pending with Governor. Provides for appointment of VC and teachers,passed in 2010 Budget session. Returned on count of being money bill. Sent back to him.

Seven finance bills. Governor Devanand Konwar cleared these last July,seven months after they reached him. The governor responded only after Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi went to the press expressing serious reservations about the “inordinate delay from governor’s office hampering important government decisions and plans”.

Bihar Special Courts Act,2009. Now cleared. Allows confiscation of property of public servants facing corruption charges during trial stage. It could come into effect retrospectively from March 2010,having got President’s assent after 10 months.

Madhya Pradesh

MP Terrorism and Disruptive Activities and Control of Organised Crimes Bill,2010. Passed by Assembly on March 25,2010. Draft had actually been sent in 2007 but the Centre then returned it saying no approval was needed at that stage. The bill awards death for those found guilty of terror attacks,disruptive activities and organised crimes. Contract killings,sale of explosives,kidnapping for ransom,money laundering and other organised crimes,too,are covered. It gives the investigating officer powers to intercept telephone calls and other electronic means of communication.

Madhya Pradesh Gau-Vansh Vadh Pratishedh (Sanshodhan) Bill,2010. Finally cleared by President in December 2012. Proposes a seven-year jail term for cow-slaughter.

Madhya Pradesh Special Courts Bill ,2011. Passed in April 2011,got presidential nod in February 2012. Legislation provides for special courts for speedy trial of corruption cases and confiscation of properties. Ministers and government employees can be targeted and their tainted properties confiscated and put to public use. Presidential assent came after BJP government protested against the delay and chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan threatened a silent demonstration.

Karnataka

Karnataka Town and Country Planning and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Bill 2009. Governor H R Bhardwaj returned it twice after it was passed on July 16,2010. Popularly known as Akrama-Sakrama Bill,it allows regularisation of unauthorised construction built before December 2,2009,for a fee.

Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill,2010: Passed twice by Assembly. Now with President. Legislation imposes a complete ban on slaughter of cattle in Karnataka,replacing the 1964 Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Preservation of Animals Act that allowed the slaughter of cattle under conditions.

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh Excise Bill 2009. Withdrawn last year after observations made by President of India. State plans to introduce it again with amendments.

Himachal Pradesh Urban Rent Control (Amendment) Bill 2009. Aims to balance rights of tenants. Pending with President.

Himachal Pradesh Maintenance of Parents and Dependants (Amendments) Bill 2010. Pending at Centre,as per data updated till January. Provides for a three-month jail term to those who fail to look after their aged parents.

Chhattisgarh

Dharm Swatantrya Sanshodhan Vidheyak 2006. Passed by Assembly on August 3,2006,sent to Governor. Not returned since then. Law department says it’s not clear whether the Governor sent it to the President or decided not to. Governors’s secretary Jawahar Shrivastava declined to comment if the Bill is with Raj Bhawan or has been sent to the President.

Chhattisgarh Cooperative Societies Bill 2006. Pased by Assembly on March 3,2006. Governor sent it to President in 2007. Since then with the Centre,which suggested changes,the latest of these suggestions arriving in January 2012. Bill seeks to supersede a Madhya Pradesh Act of 1960,which is still in force.

Chhattisgarh Rent Control Bill. Passed on March 29,2011. Sent by law department to Centre on June 7,2011. No reply yet. This too seeks to replace an earlier law. Guidelines had been sent by the Centre to ensure a uniform law in rent-related matters across the country.

Jharkhand

The Jharkhand University of Technology Bill 2011. For centres of excellence,conceived in 2010. Bill passed on March 24,2011. Pending with President.

Uttarakhand

Indian Registration (Uttarakhand Amendment) Bill 2011; Indian Stamp (Uttarakhand amendment) Bill 2011; Revenue Recovery (Uttarakhand amendment) Bill 2011. Pending at Centre,as per data updated till January.