Bill removing consent clause for Good Samaritans tabled

The government, on Tuesday, introduced four Bills in the Assembly, including one that will allow Good Samaritans to provide emergency care to accident victims without their consent.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Shivanand Patil tabled the Karnataka Good Samaritan and Medical Professionals (Protection and Regulation during Emergency Situations) (Amendment) Bill, 2018.

The amendment seeks to remove a clause in which a Good Samaritan was exempt from facing civil or criminal action for actions while providing emergency medical care “with the consent of an injured person, whether expressed or implied.”

The government has proposed to remove the above clause so that a Good Samaritan can act even without the consent of an injured person on the basis that his or her actions will be in good faith. This is in line with a suggestion made by the President, who has agreed to approve the Bill, subject to removal of the consent clause.

The government also tabled the Karnataka Debt Relief Bill, 2018, that seeks to write off loans that small farmers, landless agricultural labourers and those belonging to economically weaker sections have borrowed from private moneylenders.

An amendment to the Karnataka Land Revenue Act was also tabled to regularise cultivation on government land. The amendment Bill gives the government two more years to dispose of over 1.84 lakh applications seeking regularisation.

Lastly, the government also tabled a Bill to amend the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, to set up a public procurement portal that will be accessible to the public, among other changes.