The Parliament will reconvene today after the Holi break.
On March 16, 2022, its fourth day in session, the Railway Minister responded to suggestions raised by MPs on the Railway Budget for 2022-23. Ashwini Vaishnaw in his reply said that there no talks of privatisation, and apprised the Lower House on status of recruitment for posts in Railways.
The Lok Sabha also passed the Demands for Grants under the Control of the Ministry of Railways for 2022-23
Today, the House will take up discussion and voting on Demands for Grants from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Here are the latest updates:
Lok Sabha adjourned for the day
The Lower House has been adjourned till 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 22, 2022.
Discussion on ‘matters of urgent public importance’ underway in the Lower House
V. Vaithilingam, INC MP from Puducherry, demands reservation for students of Union Territories.
C.N. Annadurai, DMK MP from Tiruvannamalai, demands setting up of BSNL or any other private network providers’ towers in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai.
MPs participated in record numbers during discussions on Demands for Grants
LS Speaker Om Birla said that 75 MPs have spoken in discussions on demands for grants so far in the current session, adding that this has set the record for participation in such discussions.
France, Italy have expressed interest in setting up educational institutes in India- Centre
In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, said that Institutions from France and Italy have expressed interest in setting up educational institutes in India.
“The Ministry of External Affairs has informed that the French side has expressed interest in setting up a university campus for higher education courses in India.” “Further, Istituto Marangoni (Italy) had expressed interest to establish a foreign, fully-independent Higher Education Institute of Fashion and Design in India,” Mr. Sarkar said.
He said international campuses will give Indian students and those from neighbouring countries exposure to quality education of global standards. - PTI
TMC MP from West Bengal puts forth suggestions to help medical students who returned from Ukraine
TMC MP Sudip Bandhyopadhyay says he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and submitted a memorandum written by West Bengal CM Mamta Banerjee on the situation of medical students who were forced to leave Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
391 students belonging to West Bengal and thousands of students from other states returned to India from Ukraine, he said, adding that his state placed the some suggestions in front of the PM, to help such medical students. Some of the suggestions include allowing students to pursue their internships in national colleges in West Bengal and paying them stipends at par with other students, allowing students at other stages of their MBBS degrees to get admitted to at equivalent levels in private medical colleges, and giving such students financial assistance to meet the expenses of their course fees.
Mr. Bandhyopadhyay said the Prime Minister replied to the letter submitted by him and said that India is in talks with the Hungarian government, and if possible, all such students would be accommodated to Hungary. The TMC MP added that if Hungary fails to do so, state governments should admit students who have returned from Ukraine in their private and government colleges.
Discussion on grants for Ministry of Road Transport and Highways concludes, MPs discuss matters of urgent public importance.
INC’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary on road completion targets
Mr. Chowdhary said that in the current fiscal year 2021-22, despite having spent about 77% of the revised budget allocation awarded to it, till January 2022, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry had just completed 56.6% of the road construction target.
“The government has failed to achieve its target in the current fiscal year,” he said.
BJP MP urges Centre to speed up border road construction in north Bengal and NE
BJP member from Darjeeling, Raju Bista, urged the government to speed up construction of border roads in north Bengal and the north-eastern states, including an alternative highway from Siliguri to Darjeeling.
He also asked for the swift construction of a new bridge to replace the 100-year-old Coronation Bridge which is an important link between north Bengal and the north-east.
“The 100-year-old Coronation Bridge is in a very poor condition and needs urgent replacement,” Bista said.
The Coronation Bridge is located in the narrow 22-km corridor known as the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ which has Bangladesh on one side and Nepal on the other, making it strategically significant.
“The Chicken’s Neck area has become a bottleneck,” the BJP MP said, mentioning the traffic congestion in and around the Siliguri region.
“There is a need to speed up road construction in the border region,” he said, stating that the north Bengal and Sikkim region was important as it shared borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. - PTI
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister now present in the House.
Lok Sabha proceedings extended till 8 p.m.
Cost of cryptocurrency mining not allowed as deduction under Income Tax Act- Centre
Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the infrastructure cost incurred for the mining of cryptocurrencies or any virtual digital assets will not be allowed as deduction under the income tax act.
“Infrastructure costs incurred in the mining of VDA (like crypto assets) will not be treated as cost of acquisition, as the same will be in the nature of capital expenditure”, he said, which is not allowed as a deduction under the I-T Act.
Mr. Chaudhary said the government will release a definition of virtual digital assets (VDA) with a view to levy 30% tax on income from the transfer of such assets. He added that currently, cryptocurrencies are unregulated in India.
In the Union Budget 2022-23, however, the government had announced tat from April 1, 30% Income Tax plus cess and surcharges, will be levied on such virtual digital asset transactions in the same manner as the government treats earnings from horse races or other speculative transactions.- PTI
Dharmendra Pradhan on the impact of the pandemic on education
During the Question Hour in the Lower House, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the COVID-19 pandemic has “severely affected” the education system in India as anywhere else in the world due to the closure of schools.
He said due to the school closures, the Centre, states and educational institutions had to adopt online technologies to ensure that students’ education continued. Mr. Pradhan added that under the inclusive education component of the ‘Samagra Shiksha’ scheme, financial assistance is provided to states and union territories for undertaking identification and assessment of children with special needs, for aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching-learning material and stipend to girl students with disability for universalisation of school education and reducing the dropout rate.- PTI
Opposition MPs raise issues about NHAI, toll collection and road quality
Opposition Lok Sabha members while appreciating the work of the Road Transport and Highways Ministry under Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, also flagged issues of lack of transparency in toll collection, vacancies and debt of the NHAI and timeline of road projects.
CPI(M) MP from Kerala A M Ariff said that the current government is excessively relying on the private sector for the development of roads, adding that there is “no transparency” in amount collected at toll plazas.
“As per the agreement made by the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) with the private players, after the construction cost is recovered the toll rates are to be reduced to 40 per cent. But what is happening that rates are hiked every now and then on the whims and fancies of private players, and NHAI and central government remaining mute spectators,” Mr. Ariff said
BSP MP from Uttar Pradesh, Danish Ali, while thanking the Ministry for its work in recent years, asked about the debt lying with the NHAI. He asked how the Authority plans to overcome the Rs 3,38,000 crore debt.
Talking about the time it takes for the completion of road projects, he said, “the fund allocation has gone up three times but the speed of highway construction does not match that....your target was to construct road for 12,000 km this year but till March 10, only 8,278 km has been constructed. You are getting the funds but there is some problem.”
Raising the issue of vacant posts in the NHAI, Mr. Ali said, “NHAI is a big and good organisation but the problem is that most officials there are on deputation. We saw that the post of the chairman was also vacant recently. Several important posts are vacant. I appeal to the government that recruitment to NHAI should be direct as that would make the loyalty of those officials more to the organisation.”
RSP MP from Kerala N K Premachandran, Meanwhile, objected to the absence of Mr. Gadkari during the discussion on demands for grants for his ministry.
Mr. Premachandran said parliamentary ethics demanded that Mr. Gadkari, the Minister who was seeking approval of the Lok Sabha for grants of Rs 1.9 lakh crore during 2022-23, should be present in the House. - PTI
No trees cut in Delhi for development projects in 2021-20, over 30 lakh cut pan-India
Answering a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, said, “about 31 lakh trees were cut across India in 2020-21 for construction and development of public infrastructure projects, but not a single tree was felled in the national capital.
He said that the trees were felled with approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act and Rs 359 crore was spent on compensatory afforestation in 2020-21.
He also said that under the Forest (Conservation) Act, approval of diversion proposals is a continuous process, adding that the states and Union Territories are supposed to carry out compensatory afforestation when a forest area is diverted for non-forestry use.
The minister said no tree was cut down for developmental projects in Delhi during 2020-21. He added that over 53,000 seedlings were planted under the compensatory afforestation scheme in Delhi for which Rs 97 lakh was spent.- PTI
BJP Lok Sabha member Dr. Kirit Premjibhai Solanki in the chair
Labour Minister on sexual harassment probe committees at workplaces
Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav said in Lok Sabha today that every employer and organisation with 10 or more employees, whether in public or private sector, must set up an internal committee for receiving complaints of sexual harassment.
Mr. Yadav said the government has enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 with the aim to provide safe and secure work environment to women irrespective of their work status.
While addressing the House during Question Hour, he said: “The Act casts an obligation upon every employer and organisation whether in private or public sector employing 10 or more persons, to constitute an internal committee for receiving complaints of sexual harassment.”
The Labour Minister added that the state government is authorised to set up a local committee in every district to receive complaints from organisations having less than 10 workers or if the complaint is against the employers. - PTI
Kerala MP on the functioning of NHAI
RSP MP from Kerala, N.K. Premachandran said, in the case of national highway roads, the quality of work needs to be re-looked and reviewed, calling for accountiblity.
“Immediately after the repair and maintenance, within three months is being dilapidated, we have so many examples as far as national highways are concerned.
Raising the issue of delay in the completion of projects by the National Highway Authority of India, Mr. Premachandran said “very minimal” people are employed in NHAI.
“Everything is being outsourced, they have no manpower or people with expertise,” he said, also mentioning the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) indictment of the NHAI, which flagged procedural inefficiencies of the Authority
Stop funds if DISHA committee does not hold regular meetings- Congress MP
During the question hour today, Congress Lok Sabha member from West Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked the government to bring in a provision to withhold the funds of district development coordination and monitoring committees (DISHA), if they do not regularly hold meetings in states.
Mr. Chowdhary complained that the meeting of the DISHA committee in his district in West Bengal has not been held for past several years.
The MP said Lok Sabha members are empowered to seek all information from DISHA committee and ask questions about the implementation of various schemes and programmes in their respective district. “But, I am sorry to say that despite pleading for it in this House again and again, no meeting of the DISHA committee has been called in my district for last 12-13 years, even as I am its chairman,” Chowdhury said.
“I want to say this to the government, this House and the Speaker that make it mandatory. Stop releasing funds if DISHA committee meeting is not held properly in any district.” - PTI
The union government had constituted District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees or DISHAs to check the implementation of infrastructure and social development schemes the Ministry of Rural Development and other ministries on the district level to ensure efficiency and coordination. The Chairperson of such a committee is the Lok Sabha MP elected from the district, nominated by the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The Committee is supposed to meet at least once in every quarter to discuss the implementation of projects.
MP Suresh Kodikunnil in the chair. MP talk about road projects undertaken in their respective consitutencies. They also asked the Govt to consider undertaking certain specific projects in the region as well as expedite ongoing projects.
Kollam MP N.K. Premchandaran in the chair
Internet connectivity for tribal population
On being asked about steps being taken to ensure access to internet connectivity for the tribal population in India, Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda IT Ministry recently initiated a scheme with an outlay of approx. ₹ 6,500 crore to enable broadband and 4G connectivity to 7,000 villages in the country.
House discusses issues relevant to tribal population in India
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury asked the Govt must consider not releasing funds to districts not convening meeting as per provision of the DISHA Committee.
Seperately, BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty raised his concerns on sickle disease that prominently affects tribals. He asked if there the Govt had received any representation pertaining to methodologies that would permanently eradicate the disease. Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda stated his Ministry is working with Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the Health Ministry on the same. He added that they are working out a methodology on two fronts, namely, research and creation of a data base. He informed the house that counselling and raising awareness was important with regards to the disease. He added the Govt is also working on making treatments easily accessible.
Congress MP Tarun Gogoi suggests Govt should consider ensuring representations from students with disabilities for facilitating policies under the National Education Policy
Mr. Gogai suggested the Govt should consider representation of students with special needs in the National Policy Education Task Force. This would ensure better understanding of the problems and thereby, better policies.
Education Minister Dharamendra Pradhan replied the house is witnessing a healthy discussion and has seen consensus on related issues. He assured the Govt is working on the same and all suggestions by the MP would be noted.
MP S.S. Ahluwalia asks Govt if they would consider setting up camps in the schools itself to provide disability certificates
MP E.T. Mohammed Basheer asks Govt about the implementation of technology and sign-language for students with disabilities
IUML MP from Ponnani (Kerala) asked the Education Minister about the implementation of sign language and technology to better facilitate education for students with disabilities. In response, Education Minister Dharamendra Pradhan stated that both the suggestions were good advice and the Govt, already working on the front, will take care of the same.
MP Manish Tiwari asks Govt to do away with MP Quota for admission to Kendriya Vidyalya and Navodaya Vidyalaya
INC MP from Anandpur Sahib asked the Govt to either do away with the MP facilitated recommendation for admission to Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodya Vidyalaya. Each MP is permitted to recommend 10 children for admission to the central schools. The policy is particularly beneficial for Central Govt employees transferred during service. Alternately, he suggested that the Govt could consider increasing the quota from the present 10 to 50.
TMC MP from Krishnanagar Mahua Moitra told the house that she represented a constituency with a population serving in the Border Security Force (BSF). She suggested the Govt could consider establishing a dedicated cell to facilitate demands for further admission quota. Previously, she stated that removing the quota altogether would make things difficult.
House commences after Holi break. Question Hour in progress.
List of Business
1. Discussion and Voting on:
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2022-23.
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for 2022-23.
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for 2022-23.
2. Papers and Reports to be laid on the Table
3. Question Hour
Day 4 recap
On March 16, 2022, the Lower House passed the Demands for Grants under the Control of the Ministry of Railways for 2022-23 through a voice vote.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw replied to suggestions from Members of Parliament on the Railway Budget, and said that there are “no talks of privatisation”.
Sonia Gandhi spoke during the Zero Hour, and raised the issue of Facebook and other social media platforms being abused to target those who are speaking against the Government.
