Over 30 Bills to be tabled in monsoon session

Over 30 bills, including the controversial ordinances on land reforms, APMC and labour laws will be tabled for passage in the upcoming joint session of the legislature scheduled to start on September 21.

During the ten-day session, the Kannada University Bill, Prohibition of Beggary Bill, Electricity Reforms Bill among others are on the cards, along with some 20 ordinances promulgated by the state government since the budget session in March.

Opposition parties and activists, meanwhile, have urged the government to reserve the monsoon session for discussion on the Covid-19 pandemic, rather than hastily pushing the reforms, most of which are being prompted by the Centre in order to allow states to borrow more.

Bills with further amendments to laws governing APMC and town & country planning will also be taken up for discussion, sources in Law Department told DH.

“We have received 27 Bills till date for passage in the legislature. Up to 35 Bills could be tabled in the upcoming session,” a source said, noting that 26 Bills were tabled in the budget session alone.

A majority of the Bills are linked to reforms mandated by the Centre for allowing states to borrow up to 5% of the GSDP to raise funds for the revenue shortfall caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. Earlier, the borrowing limit for states was capped at 3% of GSDP - equivalent to around Rs 49,000 crore for Karnataka.

Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah told DH that passing such a large number of laws in haste, without providing enough time for discussion will be an ‘anti-people’ move.

“We have learnt that 28 Bills will be placed in the upcoming session. Proceedings will be held only for eight days. Is it possible to discuss all the 28 Bills in such a short duration?” Siddaramaiah said. He is also a member of the business advisory committee of the legislature.

Social activist Vinay Sreenivasa urged the government to ensure that the session is used to discuss challenges caused by the pandemic alone. “No new bills should be tabled,” he said, demanding that the government withdraw the ordinances already promulgated.

When contacted, Law Minister J C Madhuswamy confirmed that ‘several’ Bills will be discussed in the session.

Several ordinances promulgated by the government have met with opposition from labour unions and farmer groups, who say the ‘reforms’ are not in their best interests.