Parliament Diary

On the seventh sitting of Lok Sabha, the Andhra Pradesh
Reorganization (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced. The Bill increases the
number of seats in the state’s Legislative Council from 50 to 58.

In addition, the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and
the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 were also introduced in the Lok
Sabha. Both these Bills have been brought in to replace ordinances promulgated
in the last months. Opposition members protested the ordinance route taken by
the government to introduce these Bills.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was passed in Lok Sabha
today.  The Bill merges the Persons of
Indian Origin cardholders’ scheme with that of Overseas Citizen of India
cardholders from a specified date. The parent act required 12 months of
continuous stay in India before applying for citizenship in certain cases. The
Bill relaxes this requirement up to 30 days.

Additionally, the Mines and Minerals (Development and
Regulation) Amendment Bill was discussed in Lok Sabha. The Bill prescribes for
the grant of mining leases for both bulk and ‘notified minerals’ such as iron
ore, limestone, bauxite and manganese, through auction. A new category of
mining license i.e. the prospecting license-cum-mining lease, which is a two
stage-concession for the purpose of undertaking prospecting operations
(exploring or proving mineral deposits), followed by mining operations is
created by the Bill.

Parliament also passed the Public Premises (Eviction of
Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill that enables the DMRC to evict
unauthorised occupants from its premises. The Bill also specifies the time
limit for such eviction.

Rajya Sabha continued its discussion on the Motion of Thanks
for the President’s Address.