Tag: Trinamool

Vivek Gupta asks Supplementary Questions on internet connectivity to Gram Panchayats in Bengal

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Sir, through you I would like to know from the Hon. Minister, out of the 3,354 gram panchayats in West Bengal, as mentioned in this report, only 219 have been lit. Sir, while I was studying this report, I was also studying some other data. This is way below the national average; in any other State, the work that has been done is much more. I am also happy to know that the money that is being spent is increasing every year. But even after increasing the money, the number of gram panchayats being given electricity is still very less compared to the national average.

Also, I have asked about gram panchayats, and it is mentioned in the reply about optical fibres that have been laid, the trenching and ducting that have been done. So, Sir, what is the link between the digging of the trenches and last-mile connectivity, that is, connectivity to the households.

I thank the Hon. Minister for his reply and hope he follows up on his reply fast. The Minister in his reply has mentioned that 25,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots have been set up by the rural telephone exchanges of BSNL. Sir, I would like to know, through you, from the Hon. Minister that how does he plan to bridge the gap between the gram panchayats and the households; because Sir, the last-mile connectivity that he just mentioned, this 25,000 is nowhere near sufficient to make it available to each and every household, which is very essential for the Digital India programme.

 

Aparupa Poddar speaks on the need for better infrastructure at Ajmer to accommodate pilgrims during Urs

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Ajmer is a popular tourist attraction and a major pilgrimage site. It is estimated thousands of pilgrimage visit the holy shrine at Dargah Sharif from all over India and abroad.

During Urs, Ajmer is beyond its capacity. The surrounding areas near the Dargah urgently need a facelift. There was an announcement of 10 iconic religious places including Ajmer-Dargah Sharif to be under the standard operating procedure for observing international standards.

Sir, my demand is the basic facility should be given to the people coming from all over India and abroad.

 

Nadimul Haque speaks on the crackdown on meat-sellers across the country

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Sir, the Constitution guarantees us certain freedoms. We are all one. The Prime Minister talks of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but sirf kehne se nahin, karke dikhana hoga. We have to do it, to make it meaningful. The Government has to be for all. We need to safeguard our Constitution and allow it to guide us”.

The Constitution of India grants us Fundamental Rights which guarantees civil liberties. Our right to Freedom incorporates the right to practice any profession or occupation of our choosing to earn a respectable living and lead a life of dignity.

Sir, the recent events happening in states across the country paint a worrying picture of the lack of inclusiveness in our country. Reports have been pouring in of meat shops being shut down at a moment’s notice not only in Uttar Pradesh, but in Jharkhand, and other States also.

If the aim was to shut down illegal slaughterhouses, it could have been done in a proper manner. Most of the shopkeepers and butchers come from the backwards section of society, and have followed these professions for generations. They may not know the legal technicalities. The Government could have raised an awareness campaign, or at the very least afforded them some time to upgrade their shops and abattoirs as per legal norms. We are talking about 25 lakh people losing their livelihood, their families without any means to sustain themselves. This arbitrary crackdown on butchers and meat sellers is an encroachment on their right to earn a living.

The sudden clampdown on abattoirs has resulted in widespread economic and social distress in the Rs 15000 crore industry. Meat sellers have gone on strike, resulting in a huge shortage of meat and prices skyrocketing. 14% of GDP of Uttar Pradesh is also at stake.

The strike has in turn also affected other industries like leather (tanneries), export and hotels. This is leading to a huge economical loss. Reports are circulating of how even tigers and lions in zoos are being fed chicken meat, which they are refusing to eat. The government should have drawn a road map and assessed the impact of such a drastic move before implementing it.

The duty of a responsible government should be to safeguard the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution to all citizens. Otherwise, we will eventually turn into a Police State. What people do for a living or what their preferred food item is, cannot, and should not, be dictated by the State. I would urge you to look into this matter urgently and take the necessary steps to ensure equality for all as enshrined in our Constitution.

 

Sir I want to end with a couplet

 

Tere bandish ka jawab nahin.

Parathe khao, kebab nahi

Munh se niwale kyun chhin lete ho,

Koi mare ya jeeye, saath nahi

 

Ratna De Nag asks a Supplementary Question on neurogenetic test facilities

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Thank you, Madam. Neurological and neurogenetic disorders are one of the greatest threats to public health. Unless immediate action is taken, the neurogenetic burden is expected to become more serious and unmanageable.

What initiative has been taken by the Hon. Minister to deliver affordable diagnostic tests and treatment to the Indian urban and rural Committees for better qualities of life?

 

State Govt to fit solar plants on roofs of govt offices, schools, colleges

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The Bengal Power Department is keen to generate solar energy by setting up solar plants on the roofs of Government offices, schools and colleges. A beginning has been made with the recent inauguration of one such rooftop solar plant at at Rampurhat College.

Bengal Government is laying a lot of stress on producing solar energy. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has laid the foundation of a scheme called ‘Aloshree’ under which solar plants are being set up on the rooftops of various Government offices across the State.

Among the major solar power projects of the State are the solar photovoltaic (PV) plants at Santaldih and Chhara in Purulia district and at Mejia in Bankura distirct, and the canal bank solar PV project at Haptiagachh in North Dinajpur district. West Bengal is a pioneer in setting up canal bank solar PV projects in the country.

The Power Department has also taken up an elaborate scheme to set up 500 MW ultra mega solar parks in Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and Bankura districts.

 

সৌরবিদ্যুৎ উৎপাদনে জোর দিচ্ছে পশ্চিমবঙ্গ সরকার

বিকল্প শক্তি উৎপাদনে জোর দিচ্ছে রাজ্য সরকার। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের অনুপ্রেরণায় চালু হয়েছে আলোশ্রী প্রকল্প। এই প্রকল্পে রাজ্য জুড়ে সরকারি অফিসের ছাদে বসানো হবে সোলার প্যানেল।

রাজ্যের বিদ্যুৎ মন্ত্রী শোভনদেব চট্টোপাধ্যায় বীরভূমের রামপুরহাট কলেজে এই প্রকল্পের সূচনা করে বলেন, রাজ্য সরকার খুব আগ্রহী সৌরশক্তি উৎপাদনের জন্য। রাজ্য সরকারের সমস্ত অফিস, স্কুল ও কলেজের ছাদে বসানো হবে সোলার প্যানেল। গ্রামীণ বিদ্যুতায়নের কাজও প্রায় শেষ পর্যায়ে।

উত্তর দিনাজপুরে একটি ১০ মেগা ওয়াটের ক্যানাল ব্যাঙ্ক সোলার ফটোভোল্টাইক প্রকল্প ইতিমধ্যেই সম্পূর্ণ হয়েছে। এই ধরনের ক্যানাল ব্যাঙ্ক সোলার ফটোভোল্টাইক প্রকল্প দেশে এই প্রথম।

একই রকম আরও তিনটি প্রকল্প হবে পুরুলিয়ার সাঁওতালডিহি ও বাঁকুড়া জেলার মেজিয়ায়। বিদ্যুৎ দপ্তর পূর্ব মেদিনীপুর, পশ্চিম মেদিনীপুর ও বাঁকুড়া জেলায় ৫০০ মেগা ওয়াটের আলট্রা মেগা সোলার পার্ক তৈরির প্রকল্প হাতে নিয়েছে।

 

 

Dasarath Tirkey speaks on the damages to tea gardens in Alipurduar during monsoon

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Thank you Chairman Sir for giving me the opportunity. I want to attract the attention of the Ministry of Water Resources. My constituency Alipurduar in located in north Bengal and has many big rivers. During monsoon these areas are flooded and specially the tea gardens face a huge economic loss. I want to urge the Ministry to take steps to prevent such losses in future.

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien seeks clarification from Railway Minister on The Railways Appropriation Bill, 2017

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FULL TRANSCRIPT

 

Clarification 1

Thank you to Mantri ji for yielding. He has presented the whole (actual) numbers. I request him to present the numbers in terms of percentage.

The Mantri ji has said Railways has taken a quantum leap. My second question is on that. How come this is the first time since 1978 that the freight earnings of Railways has gone down YoY?

 

Clarification 2

I have one observation and three specific questions. I congratulate the Railway Minister for at last realising that the bullet train is the costliest train. You mentioned about safety, Sir, so may I make a suggestion: 1,25,474 gazetted officers are designated as safety officials; these posts are vacant, so please tell us when you plan to fill them up.

My second question. You talked about federalism. This is the first time in the last three years that – and this only the new Government has done – you have changed the capital expenditure for funding projects from Central to States and the Centre sharing the projects. So it’s not very nice when you read out these figures that you have given to the States, you are not giving us some daan. The funding pattern has changed and this the country should know.

My last question is, Sir, for the last three years – and Suresh Prabhu ji is really earnest – we’ve heard about vision; where is the action, Sir?   

 

Saugata Roy speaks on the amendments to the Finance Bill as recommended by Rajya Sabha

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Sir, yesterday the Rajya Sabha took up a discussion on the Finance Bill, 2017 and they have sent back the Bill with five different amendments.

What is the procedure in the case of a Money Bill? Article 109 (4) says that “if the House of the People does not accept the recommendation of Council of States, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which it was passed by the House of the People without any of the amendments recommended by the Council of States.”

But there is also another provision in the rules to which I draw the attention of the Finance Minister. He can also accept some of the recommendation of the Council. In the Article 107 it says “if the House accepts any amendment or amendments as recommended by the Council the Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses with the amendment or amendments as recommended by the Council.

This means, this House can also accept the amendments that has been placed by the Rajya Sabha. Now, the question is whether the government should respond to the call of the Council of States and accept some of the recommendations that have been made.

What are the recommendations that have been made? Before I speak on that, let me point out that at the time of discussion on the Finance Bill, we had mentioned that many Acts had been amended through the Finance Bill which should not have been done. Apart from ten Acts listed in the Bill, large number of changes in the matter of tribunals was made. We had said that this need not have been included in the Finance Bill, which is a Money Bill. The government stormed over all our Amendments and went ahead.

We also mentioned that one of the provisions in the Finance Bill is to link the Aadhaar number to the PAN Card; we had objected. But since then Supreme Court has given an observation, that for any public interest programme, like the mid-day meal scheme or for receiving subsidies, Aadhaar Card should not be made compulsory. We had raised this issue about the Aadhaar Card being made all powerful.

Another point has been made that whether overuse of Aadhaar Card is leading to leakage of data and breach of privacy of individuals. It will contain all my details and if everything is linked to the Aadhaar Card, government will have at its fingertips any facts about the private accounts of any individual. We object to this.

Another thing we had objected at the time of passing the Finance Bill in Lok Sabha, was the matter of electoral bonds and electoral funding. It has been included in the Finance Bill. There should be a separate law for ensuring transparency in electoral funding. Instead, it has been included in this ‘omnibus’ Finance Bill.

Now, having made these points let me go to the actual amendments made by the Rajya Sabha. One is, Rajya Sabha has said that in Section 132 (A), the Amendment is to Clause 51. It is to be deleted according to Rajya Sabha. Clause 51 deals with, Section 132 (a) of the Income Tax Act – the power to requisition books of accounts etc. In the Finance Bill it was mentioned that for the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that the reason to believe as recorded by IT authorities under this section will/shall not be any person or any authority. So power to requisition books will be there and it will not be revealed to any individual. I think it is a direct assault on the right of the individual and the Rajya Sabha has recommended that this assault should not be there.

There are two more recommendations that the Rajya Sabha has made regarding Clause 52 and Clause 53 both of which deal with section 133 and 133 (a) of the Income Tax Act; they also should be removed . Section 133 of the Income Tax Act is the power to call for information and section 133A is power of survey. It is draconian that somebody will have the power to move anything without having to disclose the reason. This is draconian and goes against the rights of the individual. So, in that sense, I think the Finance Minister should accept the recommendation.

Sir, the main matter, main objection that we have is with regard to electoral funding as has been mentioned in Clause 154 of the Finance Bill as passed by Rajya Sabha. There the amendment has suggested that the word we shall not be above 7.5% of net profit of the last three financial years. The Finance Bill as placed by the Finance Minister says that not every company shall disclose in its ‘Profit and Loss’ account the total amount contributed by it under the Section during the financial year. In this case, if a company contributes whole of its profit to the ruling party then that would be legally sanctionable. The Rajya Sabha amendment calls upon a restriction of this contribution by political parties.

The other thing is regarding The Company’s Act, where the Rajya Sabha has suggested that provided further that there shall be a requirement to disclose the names of the political parties to which contributions have been made. There is no such restriction in the present law; it says, after line 40, that a company may make contribution through any instrument issued in pursuance to any scheme notified under any law for the time being in force for the contribution to the political party. The main demand of the Rajya Sabha is that the names of those who are contributing should be revealed. I think that this is a very reasonable amendment. The Finance Minister himself belongs to the Rajya Sabha; he may once go through the wishes of the Council of States and agree to at least one of the recommendations of the House to which he belongs. It would only be democratic.

Madam, our contention is that the bicameral system is there for checks and balances. Just because a party has the majority in the Lok Sabha, it should not ride roughshod over the opinions of the other House. That’s why it is my humble submission, Madam, that I mentioned these matters which have been done. I am again saying that the procedures of this House are being violated in the sense that we are making the Finance Bill a comprehensive compendium of different laws instead of a plain Bill to announce the tax proposals of the Government. In general, we have objected to it and again we support the amendments made in the Council of the States.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy asks a Supplementary Question on the nuclear reactors located in Kovvada

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I would like to as a pointed question. How many years are required to be taken for the commissioning of all the six nuclear reactors at Kovvada?

Bijoy Chandra Barman asks a Supplementary Question on new coal block allocation policy

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I want to ask the Hon. Minister how many open cost projects had been outsourced by the ECL in the last three years, and what was the target of production in those OCPs. How many projects in coal mines are running behind their target production in the country?