Parliament Diary

PRS Parliament Diary
Winter Session-II: February 17-20, 2014

The second week of the 2014 Winter Session saw a jump in activity in
Parliament.

Legislation
The 15th Lok Sabha has passed a total of 175 Bills. 10 Bills have been passed
since the beginning of the Winter 2014 Session. 5 were Finance and
Appropriation Bills, while 5 were legislative Bills.The
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was
also passed by the Lok Sabha today.

The 5 Legislative Bills passed were:
The
Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending)
Bill, 2013
The
National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment)
Bill, 2013
The
Governors (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Bill, 2013
The
Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University Bill, 2012
The
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014 was passed by the
Rajya Sabha today. 
Main Features of the Bill are mentioned below:

• The Andhra Pradesh
  Reorganisation Bill, 2014 was introduced in Lok Sabha on February 13, 2014
  by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde.  The Bill
  was passed in Lok Sabha on February 18, 2014 with several amendments. The
  Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on February 20, 2014.
• The Bill provides for the
  reorganisation of the state of Andhra Pradesh.  It creates two
  states, namely Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• Composition of
  Telangana and its capital: The Bill stated that the newly formed
  state of Telangana will comprise of Adilabad, Karimnagar, Medak,
  Nizamabad, Warangal, Rangareddi, Nalgonda,
  Mahbubnagar, Khammam and Hyderabad
  districts.  The LS amended this to exclude certain revenue villages
  in Khammam district.
• The Bill states that
  central government will constitute an expert committee to make
  recommendations for an appropriate capital for Andhra Pradesh, within
  forty five days from this Act coming in to force.  The Lok Sabha has
  extended this time period to six months.
• Representation in
  the Legislative Assembly: With regard to the Second schedule to
  the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Bill states that the total
  number of seats for Andhra Pradesh would be 175 and for Telangana would be
  119.  The Lok Sabha amendments also specify that for Andhra Pradesh,
  the seats reserved for SCs would be 29, and for STs would be 7. Further,
  for the state of Telangana, the number of seats for SCs would be 19 and
  STs would be 12.
• Provisional’ status
  of Legislative Assembly and Council: The Lok Sabha amendments
  have modified sections related to the Legislative Assembly (LA) and
  Legislative Council (LC) of Telangana, to remove its provisional
  status.  Consequently, provisions related to the composition of such
  ‘provisional’ assembly have been deleted.
• Speaker and Deputy
  Speaker of the LA: The Bill stated that until the Telangana
  provisional Legislative Assembly chooses its Speaker and Deputy Speaker,
  the Governor may appoint members of the Assembly to play that role. 
  The Lok Sabha amendments state that the Andhra Pradesh Assembly shall
  choose its Deputy Speaker, who will also play the role of Speaker of the
  Telangana Assembly, until a Speaker is appointed.
• Chairman, Deputy
  Chairman and Rules of Procedure of the LC: According to the Bill,
  the Legislative Councils of the successor states would each choose a
  member to be Chairman of the Council.  The Lok Sabha amendments have
  included a procedure similar to that of appointment of Speaker.
• The Lok Sabha amendments
  introduce a provision specifying that the rules of procedure and conduct
  of business of the present Legislative Council of Andhra Pradesh will also
  apply to the Legislative Council of Telangana until its own rules are
  made.
• Revenue
  Distribution and Special Development Package: The Bill states
  that the resources allocated by the 13th Finance Commission to the
  existing state of Andhra Pradesh will be apportioned between the two
  successor states on the basis of population ratio and other
  parameters.  The Lok Sabha amendments include a proviso that the
  President shall also make a reference to the 14th Finance Commission to
  make separate allocations for each of the successor states, after taking
  into account their current resources.
• The LS amendments also
  state that the central government shall ensure that adequate benefits in
  the form of special development package are given to the backward areas of
  the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.  This shall include special
  incentives for Rayalseema and north coastal regions of the state.
• Polavaram
  Irrigation Project: Under the Bill, the central government will
  execute the irrigation project in consultation with the governments of
  Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.  The LS amendment modifies this provision,
  which states that the central government shall assume that the new state
  of Telangana has given its consent for the irrigation project.

Productivity
The extended Winter Session of Parliament started on the February 5,
2014. In the ten sittings since then, Lok Sabha has lost 88% of scheduled time
to disruptions, while the Rajya Sabha has lost 85% of scheduled time to
disruptions.

A breakdown of productivity from the 3rd to the current Lok Sabha can be
seen here and that of the different sessions of the 15th Lok
Sabha can be
seen here.