Parliament to discuss rail, general budgets next week

Financial business, including a discussion on the railway and general budgets for 2015-16, and consideration and passing of the bills to replace the ordinances will be the main issues before both houses of parliament next week.

Government business in the Lok Sabha for the next week includes consideration and passing of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015, an official statement said here Saturday.

It said general discussion and voting on the railway budget for 2015-16, demands for Grants on Account(Railways) for 2015-16 and supplementary demands for grants for railways for 2014-15 are part of the business to be taken up by the Lok Sabha next week.

Consideration and Passing of related appropriate bills and general discussion and voting on general budget for 2015-16 are some of the things that will be taken up, it added.

In the Rajya Sabha, two bills to replace ordinances -- The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 and Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015, passed by the Lok Sabha have been listed for consideration and passing on Monday.

Statutory resolutions seeking disapproval of the two related ordinances will also be taken up along with the bills.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2014 is one of the three bills already pending in the Rajya Sabha, for the withdrawal of which the government has earlier moved motions and the same were deferred following some issues raised by the opposition.

The other two pending bills relate to raising FDI limit in the insurance sector and allocation of coal blocks through open bidding.

Discussion and voting on the railway budget for 2015-16 and supplementary demands for grants for 2014-15 and passing of related appropriation Bills is the financial business to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha during the next week, it said.

The government has also proposed consideration and passing of the Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014, as passed during the winter session by the Lok Sabha, in the Rajya Sabha next week.

Both the houses will take up for consideration a resolution seeking approval to constitute a new Railway Convention Committee for determination of the rate of dividend payable by the railways to the general revenues and other ancillary matters next week.

During the first two weeks of the budget session, the Lok Sabha has passed five bills seeking to replace five respective ordinances relating to Amending the Citizenship Act, introduction of e-rickshaws, allocation of coal mines through open bidding, hiking FDI in the insurance sector and allocation of non-coal mineral resources through auction.

The Rajya Sabha has passed three bills including the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill replacing the related ordinance, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Persons) Amendment Bill, 2014, earlier passed by the Lok Sabha.