Bill to amend regulation of chemical weapons passed by Parliament

Jhalak - September 3, 2012

The Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (the Bill) was recently passed by the Lok Sabha without any amendment. The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 (the Act) was enacted to give effect to the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction (the CWC). The CWC aims to eliminate chemical weapons by prohibiting their development, acquisition, stockpiling, transfer or use by State Parties. The 188 State Parties of the CWC are required to take the steps necessary to prohibit these activities within their jurisdiction. India signed the Convention on January 14, 1993. The Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on April 16, 2010 by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr. Srikant Kumar Jena. The Standing Committee submitted its report on August 3, 2010. This Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on May 3, 2012 with some amendments based on the recommendations of the Standing Committee. The recommendations of the standing committee and the subsequent amendments made by the Rajya Sabha are as follows:

The Act disallows any person from transferring or receiving specified toxic chemicals from a citizen of a non-State Party. The Bill changes this position by prohibiting transfer or receipt of the specified toxic chemicals from a non-State Party to the Convention. The Committee recommended that the provision should clearly prohibit transfer or receipt from both non-State Parties and citizens of non-State Parties. The Rajya Sabha has made the corresponding amendment to the Bill.

The Act mandates the registration of persons engaged in the production, transfer, or use of any toxic chemical. The Bill makes registration mandatory, subject to certain threshold limits that are prescribed, for manufacturers of specified chemicals. The Committee observed that this would make registration mandatory only for those manufacturers who cross the specified limit. Thus, the Committee asked the government to consider a two-step process of compulsory registration of all manufacturers, followed by a declaration of those crossing the threshold limits. This recommendation has not been accepted by the Rajya Sabha. Hence, only those persons whose production of toxic chemicals exceeds the threshold would be required to register.

The Act established a National Authority to implement the provisions of the Convention. It empowers the central government to appoint officers of the National Authority as enforcement officers. The Bill broadens the central government’s power by allowing it to appoint any of its officers as enforcement officers. The Committee recommended that eligibility criteria, such as technical qualifications and expertise, for these officers should be set under the rules. The Committee also recommended that officers should be given suitable training before their appointment. The Rajya Sabha has incorporated the suggestion of prescribing eligibility criteria under the Bill.

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on August 30, 2012 without any amendments. The standing committee report and its summary may be accessed here and here.

Policy

Key highlights of the recently launched Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

Joyita - October 17, 2014

The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana was launched last week, for the development of model villages. Under the Yojana, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024.

The first Adarsh Gram must be developed by 2016, and two more by 2019. From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP, one each year. This implies that a total of 6,433 Adarsh Grams, of the 2,65,000 gram panchayats, will be created by 2024. Key features of the Yojana are outlined below.

Objectives

Key objectives of the Yojana include:

The development of model villages, called Adarsh Grams, through the implementation of existing schemes, and certain new initiatives to be designed for the local context, which may vary from village to village.
Creating models of local development which can be replicated in other villages.

Identification of villages

MPs can select any gram panchayat, other than their own village or that of their spouse, to be developed as an Adarsh Gram. The village must have a population of 3000-5000 people if it is located in the plains, or 1000-3000 people if located in hilly areas.

Lok Sabha MPs can choose a village from their constituency, and Rajya Sabha MPs from the state from which they are elected. Nominated members can choose a village from any district of the country. MPs which represent urban constituencies can identify a village from a neighbouring rural constituency.

Funding

No new funds have been allocated for the Yojana. Resources may be raised through:

Funds from existing schemes, such as the Indira Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and Backward Regions Grant Fund, etc.,
The Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS),
The gram panchayat’s own revenue,
Central and State Finance Commission Grants, and
Corporate Social Responsibility funds.

Implementation

A Village Development Plan must be created for each Adarsh Gram. While each village will develop a list of activities to be carried out, based on its own resources and requirements, possible activities have been listed in the guidelines for the scheme. For example, Adarsh Grams can work towards providing universal access to basic healthcare facilities, promoting diversified livelihoods through agriculture related livelihoods and skill development, providing pension for all eligible families, housing for all, and promoting social forestry.

The table below outlines key functionaries at the national, state, district, and village level and their responsibilities.

Table 1: Roles and responsibilities of key functionaries

Level	Functionary	Key roles and responsibilities
National	Member of Parliament	Identify the Adarsh Gram Facilitate the planning process Mobilise additional funds Monitor the scheme
	Two committees, headed by the Minister of Rural Development, and Secretary, Rural Development, respectively.*	Monitor the process of identification and planning Review the implementation of the scheme Identify bottlenecks in the scheme Issue operational guidelines Indicate specific resource support which each Ministry can provide
State	A committee headed by the Chief Secretary	Supplement central guidelines for the scheme Review Village Development Plans Review implementation Outline monitoring mechanisms Design a grievance redressal mechanism for the scheme
District	District Collector	Conduct the baseline survey Facilitate the preparation of the Village Development Plan Converge relevant schemes Ensure grievance redressal Monthly progress review of the scheme
Village	Gram Panchayat and functionaries of schemes (at various levels)	Implement of the scheme Identify common needs of the village Leverage resources from various programmes Ensure participation in the scheme

Note: *These committees will include members from other Ministries.

Sources: Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Guidelines, Ministry of Rural Development; PRS

Monitoring

A web based monitoring system will be established to enable the MP and other stakeholders to monitor the scheme. Outputs relating to physical and financial targets will be measured each quarter. A mid-term evaluation and post-project evaluation will be conducted through an independent agency.

More information on the scheme is available in the guidelines for the scheme, here.

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Bill to amend regulation of chemical weapons passed by Parliament

Key highlights of the recently launched Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

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