GoI to introduce 17 Bills in Winter Session of Parliament: Congress to oppose 3, know why

The Winter Session of the Parliament is beginning on December 7 and will go on till December 29. For the 17-day-long session, the Government of India has listed 17 bills for consideration. The Opposition, led by Congress, is opposed to three of the Bills-- the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Forest Conservation Amendment Bill, 2022. 

"We want these bills to be sent to standing committees. There is a need for more discussion on these bills and Congress cannot support them in their current form," said Jairam Ramesh, General Secretary of the Congress, after the meeting of the party's parliamentary strategy group at Sonia Gandhi's residence. It had in attendance incumbent party President Mallikarjun Kharge. 

Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The Biological Diversity Act, of 2002, was framed to give effect to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, which strives for sustainable, fair, and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

On December 16, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav introduced the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The amendments include reducing pressure on wild medicinal plants by encouraging their cultivation to “encourage the Indian system of medicine”, fast-tracking research and patent applications, and bringing in more foreign investments to “the chain of biological resources”.

The Opposition, especially Congress, claims that the amendments were introduced with no discussion, and referred to a select committee instead of the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, which is chaired by Ramesh. 

Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022

Approved by the Centre in October 2022, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, aims to bring about improvement in governance, and enhancement of transparency and accountability in the Multi-State Cooperative Societies. It has provisions for setting up Cooperative Election Authority, Information Officer, and Ombudsman. It also has provisions for making societies more heterogeneous in nature, with the inclusion of women and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the board of the Cooperative Societies.  

The cash-rich co-operatives in many states are controlled by the Opposition parties, including Congress. The cooperatives decide the political fortunes in states such as Maharashtra, Kerala, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, and this could be one of the reasons for Congress' opposition to the Bill. 

Forest Conservation Amendment Bill, 2022

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2022, seeks to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and envisages removing ambiguity in the applicability of the provisions of the Act, promoting plantation in non-forest areas, and conserving the forests. Through the Bill, the government seeks to bring about a two-stage approval process for any application seeking diversion of the forest land for non-forestry uses, including any kind of development/construction. It seeks to streamline the approval process by reducing the timeline for arriving at the final decision. 

Congress alleges that the rules violate the Forest Rights Act, 2006 by diluting the legal requirement of ensuring FRA compliance and of seeking the consent of Gram Sabha before diverting forest land. 

(With agency inputs)