Gujarat Assembly approves four Bills

The Gujarat Assembly on Thursday passed four Bills introduced by the BJP government amid walkout by the opposition Congress.

These Bills are - The Gujarat Appropriation Bill, The Gujarat Stamp (Amendment) Bill, The Gujarat Electricity Duty (Amendment) Bill and The Gujarat Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill.

All the Bills were passed with majority vote as Congress members did not give approval for their passage.

They even walked out during debate on The Gujarat Co- operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, claiming the government wants to take away powers of the district collectors in holding elections to co-operative sugar factories.

The Bill, passed in the absence of Congress MLAs, makes some minor changes in the manner in which the elections to co-operative sugar factories are held.

The Appropriation Bill gives power to the government to withdraw funds for meeting expenditure during the financial year.

The Gujarat Stamp (Amendment) Bill propose a hike in stamp duty charges for various instruments.

For stamp duty related to adoption deed, marriage registration, partnership and release of ancestral property in favour of legal heirs, the present rate of Rs 100 is proposed to be increased to Rs 200.

Under the 'The Gujarat Electricity Duty (Amendment) Bill', industrial units are required to pay Rs 60 paise per unit as duty, a hike of 5 paise per unit.

Friday is the last day of the budget session of the Assembly.