Haryana Assembly passes 12 bills during brief Monsoon Session

The Haryana Assembly on Wednesday passed 12 bills during its one-day Monsoon Session.

The duration of the session had been curtailed in the wake of the coronavirus situation, with the state registering a sharp rise in cases recently. Eight legislators, including the chief minister, Speaker and two ministers, tested positive for the disease just ahead of the session.

Majority of the bills were moved by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala and Health and Urban Local Bodies Minister Anil Vij.

The bills were passed over an hour after being tabled in the House, which was presided over by Deputy Speaker Ranbir Gangwa in the absence of Speaker Gian Chand Gupta.

Among the bills which were passed include the Haryana Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which amends the Haryana Rural Development Act, 1986.

As per the bill, with a view to give a push to the economy, which has slumped due to lockdown amid COVID-19, the bill proposed to impose the Rural Development fee on ad-valorem basis, at the rate of one per cent of the sale-proceeds of fruits and vegetables bought or sold or brought for processing in the notified market area.

The Haryana Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed to further amend the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, which would enable the government to conduct the first election of the newly-constituted corporation within a period of five years and six months, instead of the earlier five years.

To further amend the Haryana Municipal Entertainment Duty Act, 2019, the Haryana Municipal Entertainment Duty (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed.

As per the bill, the government observed that the scope of this Act required to be broadened considering various available means of entertainment via digital networking in present times, that is, cable operators, Direct to Home (DTH) operators, video parlours, pool parlours and IPTV services.

Accordingly, the government decided to include various digital entertainment activities along with other, which shall be included in the Act through an amendment, as per the Bill.

To further amend the Haryana Lifts and Escalators Act, 2008, the Haryana Lifts and Escalators (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed, which would allow Emergency Rescue Devices in lifts which will give sufficient backup, in case of power breakdown, to land at the desired floor and keep it operating for at least 15 minutes.

The Haryana Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed to further amend the Haryana Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2005.

The objective of making further amendment in the Haryana Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2005 is to enable the state to avail 2 per cent additional borrowing of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) amounting to Rs 17,172.64 crore over and above the prescribed limit of 3 per cent of the GSDP during the current financial year 2020-21, as per the Bill.