The Hindu : Parliament monsoon session from July 21

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 22, 2003

National

National

Parliament monsoon session from July 21

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI June 21. The monsoon session of Parliament will begin on July 21 and go on till August 22. A decision to this effect was taken by the Union Cabinet here today.

The Union Minister and Cabinet spokesperson, Sushma Swaraj, said the Government would seek the adoption of various Bills, that were pending after being cleared by either House, during the session that would have 22 sittings.

Bills passed by the Rajya Sabha and now pending before the Lower House included the Representation of the People's (Amendment) Bill, and Foreigners (Amendment) Bill. Those which had been cleared by Lok Sabha and pending before the Upper House included the Central Vigilance Commission Bill, the Airport Authority of India Bill and the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Bill.

Asked about the Women's Reservation Bill, she noted that a consensus had proved elusive even after the recent all-party meeting convened by the Speaker, Manohar Joshi. The Government would seek a discussion only if there was a consensus among political parties.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal for seven more flights of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV C-7 to C-13) and advance action for long lead items for two subsequent flights (C-14 and C-15) with a view to ensuring continuity at production facilities and sustaining the operational and potential commercial use of the vehicles.

The total cost of the programme approved today was estimated at Rs. 680 crores, with a foreign exchange component of Rs. 176 crores. The vehicles were expected to be launched at the rate of two a year.

Assistance to Alliance Air

In a related development, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which also met today, decided to extend Rs. 175 crores to the Indian Airline's subsidiary, Alliance Air, over a period of five years to improve air connectivity in the North-East.

The assistance to be provided at the rate of Rs. 35 crores a year would cover almost 90 per cent of the loss that the airlines was expected to sustain. A study of the economics of the project had estimated an average annual negative cash flow of about Rs. 38 crores.

Under the programme, Alliance Air would deploy four 50-seater ATR-42-320 aircraft for operating services to eight stations — Guwahati, Silchar, Lilabari, Aizawl, Agartala, Dimapur, Imphal, and Shillong.

The Government's spokesperson said no station in Arunachal Pradesh had been included, as air services to the State were technically not feasible now.

Funds for water schemes

The CCEA also formally cleared the three schemes announced by the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, during last year's Independence Day, for improving drinking water facilities in rural areas.

The Rs. 700 crore package, to be implemented over the next two years, envisaged installation of one lakh handpumps in areas affected by water scarcity, provision of drinking water facilities in one lakh primary schools and revival of one lakh traditional sources of drinking water.

According to latest reports, only 90 per cent of rural habitations in the country had full coverage with regard to potable water. The situation was all the more pathetic in schools — more than half the six lakhs and odd rural primary and upper primary schools were yet to be provided with drinking water facilities.

The CCEA also approved the sixth country programme of the United Nations Population Fund to be implemented at a cost of Rs. 365 crores over the next five years. The programme was aimed at supporting the national goal of population stabilisation through improved reproductive health services, with a special focus on HIV/ AIDS and adolescent and gender issues.

It also decided to upgrade the Empowered Action Group, set up under the Union Health Ministry, to help accelerate population stabilisation activities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttaranchal, where socio-demographic indicators were below the national average.

Following the CCEA's decision, the EAG would now become a high-power single window clearance mechanism for approving annual action plans of the States covered by it. An inter-Ministerial panel would be specially set up to vet the plans of the States before they were submitted to the EAG for final approval.

The CCEA decided to fix the minimum support price for jute at Rs. 860 a quintal for the 2003-04 season, marking an increase of Rs. 10 from last year's MSP and gave its approval for an MoU with Thailand for cooperation in agricultural science, technology and economy.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National