Centre lists 16 Bills including Waqf Bill for winter session of Parliament

New Delhi: The government has scheduled 16 Bills for the winter session of Parliament beginning Monday, including amendments to the Waqf Act and five new proposals. Among the new Bills is a draft law to establish a cooperative university.

The Bills pending in the Lok Sabha include the Waqf (Amendment) Bill which has been listed for consideration and passage after the joint committee of the two Houses submits its report to Lok Sabha.

The panel is mandated to submit its report on the last day of the first week of the winter session.

Opposition members on the panel are demanding an extension in the timeline to submit its report. They have alleged that committee chair Jagdambika Pal, a BJP MP, is bulldozing the committee meetings and have sought the intervention of Speaker Om Birla.

The presentation, discussion and voting on First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2024-25 has also been listed. The session concludes on December 20.

The other Bill listed by the government for introduction, consideration and passage is the Punjab Courts (Amendment) Bill to enhance the pecuniary (defined as the monetary value of a case) appellate jurisdiction of Delhi district courts from the existing Rs 3 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

The Merchant Shipping Bill, also a new draft law planned by the government, seeks to ensure compliance with India’s obligation under maritime treaties to which New Delhi is a party.

Besides, the Coastal Shipping Bill and the Indian Ports Bill have also been listed for introduction and eventual passage.

As many as eight Bills, including the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill are pending in Lok Sabha. According to a Lok Sabha bulletin, two Bills are pending with the Rajya Sabha.

The Rajya Sabha bulletin said an additional Bill The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, passed by the Lok is pending with the upper house.A set of proposed Bills to implement simultaneous elections in the country are not part of the list yet, though some reports suggested that the government is likely to bring the legislations in the coming session.