["If, as the saying goes, the morning shows the day; this, in all probability shows what is going to happen in case of the bill related to coal blocks allocations. "But, the Land Bill would still remain stuck, at least for now." That was the complete text of the forwarding note to the mail captioned 'Controversial Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 Passes the Rajya Sabha Hurdle Despite Dogged Opposition by the Left and the Congress Till Last ' earlier today.
Needless to say that the Rajya Sabha saw a virtual rerun of the scene pertaining to the Mines Bill in case of the subsequent Coal Bill later today. But, the Land Bill still remains stuck, at least for now.] I/II. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/rajya-sabha-passes-coal-mining-bill-coal-mines-bill-2015-budget-session-of-parliament/1/424931.html Parliament boost to Modi's plans: Coal, mining bills passed by Rajya Sabha IndiaToday.in New Delhi, March 20, 2015 | UPDATED 19:26 IST Shortly after a crucial bill on mining, the Rajya Sabha also passed the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill 2015 on Friday, the last day of the first half of Parliament's Budget session, which is likely to be extended for other pending legislations. In a repeat of what happened with the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Bill 2015, the coal bill was also favoured by the Trinamool Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Biju Janata Dal, the Nationalist Congress Party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the Samajwadi Party and the AIADMK. The coal bill was passed by a division vote - 107 in favour and 69 against. The opposition Congress and the Left voted against the bill while the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal abstained. The coal bill opens the sector for commercial mining and aims to facilitate the auction of over 200 cancelled coal blocks. The auction of the coal mines had led to a huge scandal during the UPA regime in which former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also an accused. "This is an important day for democracy, Parliament and the Indian economy as the politics of obstructionism of the Congress has been defeated," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters outside Parliament. "There will be a concrete arrangement of computerized auction of coal and mineral blocks," Jaitley said, adding, "All the money collected in national treasury through the auction of coal and minerals will be given to the coal and mineral-bearing states." Mining bill passed by Rajya Sabha The bill for the development of mines and minerals, to bring a regime of auctioning blocks for prospecting, was passed by Parliament on Friday even as the opposition parties, notably Congress and Left Front, demanded a re-look by the select committee. The bill was first put for voting in the Rajya Sabha after debate and 117 members were in its favour and 69 against it, but not before Steel and Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar moved two amendments, based on the suggestions of the relevant select committee. Accordingly, it was taken up again by the Lok Sabha -- which had already passed its original form on March 3 -- and it was again okayed by a voice vote after a brief discussion. Minister Tomar said he was happy that the select panel made the suggestions, which the government accepted. "These are good provisions. I am happy the Rajya Sabha endorsed it. But basic thrust has not changed," he said. Once the bill gets presidential consent, the new legislation will replace the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance of 2015), promulgated on January 12. Mining leases for minerals may go the coal way Primarily, the new bill seeks to introduce a regime of auction to grant prospecting licences, like for coal blocks. It proposes that there will no renewal of mining concessions, unlike the original act of 1957. But it proposes a licence for 50 years as against 30 now. The government has already identified 199 mines for auction. The proposed legislation also calls for the setting up of a District Mineral Foundation where mining takes place that will address the grievances of the people affected by mining, with a contribution not exceeding a third of the royalty rate. Another body, the National Mineral Exploration Trust, shall be appointed by the central government for regional and pan-India planning. Some opposition parties, led by the Biju Janata Dal, opposed it saying it infringed on the rights of states -- a stand earlier supported by the Congress and Trinamool Congress. The opposition had also prevented its introduction in the Rajya Sabha where the treasury is in minority. Among its other salient features, the new act, once in force, will add a new schedule to include mining of bauxite, iron ore, limestone and manganese ore, now called notified minerals, under its purview. The new act will call for state governments to grant mining leases and prospecting license-cum-mining leases for notified and other minerals, with the central government's approval, which will prescribe the terms and conditions for selection of bidders as also the procedure for auction. The central government may also reserve some mines exclusively for some specific purposes, as also set the eligibility conditions for the same. To plug another loophole that leads to arbitrariness, the central government will be permitted to increase the area allowed for mining, instead of granting additional leases. Presently, while 10 sq km is set as maximum limit for prospecting per lessee, a leeway is given to alter this. II. http://www.vancouverdesi.com/news/budget-session-bills-passed-on-five-of-six-ordinances-roundup/857474/ Budget session: Bills passed on five of six ordinances (Roundup) Published: March 20, 2015 New Delhi, March 20 (IANS) -- The NDA government succeeded in getting some of its crucial agenda, including bills to replace five of six ordinances, passed in parliament in the budget session's first half but was forced to defer passage of land bill in the Rajya Sabha in the face of stiff opposition. The session, which began February 23, saw opposition parties target the government on a range of issues including release of separatist Masrat Alam on orders of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The Bharatiya Janata Party is part of ruling coalition in Jammu and Kashmir. As part of its commitment to curb black money, the government introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha aimed at unearthing black money and punishing those with ill-gotten wealth stashed abroad. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had spoken about the bill in his budget speech and it was introduced on the last day of the session's first half. The government's vulnerability in the Rajya Sabha, where it does not have a majority, was evident during the session as two of the crucial bills to replace ordinances - the mines and minerals bill and the coal mines bill - could be passed only on the last day as the bills were sent to select committee which gave its report in almost a week. Also passed was the long-pending insurance law amendment bill which hikes the foreign equity cap in domestic companies from 26 percent to 49 percent and is expected to give a push to the Narendra Modi government's reform agenda. The session, while also saw passage of rail budget and conclusion of discussion on the the general budget, came soon after the BJP's stunning defeat in the Delhi assembly polls. The government managers had to work hard to bring opposition parties on board on some of the pending legislations. Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu reached out to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to seek her party's cooperation for the government's legislative agenda. But the government efforts to get the land bill passed did not succeed as opposition parties, which were totally opposed to the land ordinance, continued their resistance in Rajya Sabha even after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with nine official amendments. The ordinance will lapse April 5. Members of 14 opposition parties went on a march from the parliament to meet President Pranab Mukherjee and convey their opposition to the bill. The government also faced embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha as the motion of thanks to the president's address was adopted with an amendment. Other major bills passed to replace ordinances include citizenship amendment bill and motor vehicles amendment bill. PRS Legislative Research, which tracks work of parliament, said the first half of the session saw high productivity. "The productivity this session has been at a high 121 percent in Lok Sabha, being one of the highest in the last few sessions. Given the background of six ordinances at the beginning of the session, five of them have been passed by both the houses," said Trina Roy of the think-tank. She said the productivity was 108 percent in the Rajya Sabha. Naidu, who interacted with the media after the conclusion of the session, said that the land bill will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha in the second half of session beginning April 20 and going on till May 8. Sources said that the government is contemplating re-issuing the ordinance and may go for proroguing at least one of the houses for this purpose. IANS 2015-03-20 20:44:03 -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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