Rajya Sabha to work overtime to finish pending business

The Rajya Sabha will sit beyond its scheduled time next week to complete pending business, including passing the general and railway budgets and the mines and coal bills, an official release said here on Saturday.

"During the fourth week of the current budget session of parliament beginning Monday, Rajya Sabha will sit beyond 7.00 p.m. to take up the governments's legislative and other business," the release said.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the house on Thursday.

The upper house is still to take up for consideration and returning the Appropriation Bills relating to the Demands for Grants on Account (Railways) for 2015-16 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2014-15.

While discussion on railway budget has almost been concluded, the Rajya Sabha will also take up discussion on the general budget for 2015-16 and related appropriation bills after they are passed by Lok Sabha next week.

Another important business the Rajya Sabha which will be taken up next week will be consideration and passing of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 as passed by Lok Sabha and to be reported by the respective select committees.

The two select committees are to submit their reports on the respective ordinance replacement bills by March 18, 2015. The two ordinances, which the bills seek to replace will lapse on April 5.

As per the schedule announced, the parliament is to be adjourned on March 20, 2015.

The third ordinance replacement bill related to land acquisition is still to be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the release said.

The Business Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha has allotted one hour for further discussion on the mines bill, two hours for the coal mines bill next week and 10 hours for the general budget.

Of the six ordinances to be replaced by bills, the Rajya Sabha has so far passed three bills relating to Amendment of Citizenship Act, The Motor Vehicles Act and the insurance laws. Lok Sabha has passed all the six ordinance replacement bills.

The government also proposed consideration and passing of the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2015 and The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Rajya Sabha next week.

For the next week in the Lok Sabha, the government has proposed discussion on general budget for 2015-16 and introduction, consideration and passing of Appropriation Bills relating to the Demands for Grants on Account for 2015-16, Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2014-15 and Excess Demands for Grants for 2012-13.