Dear Members of Parliament,
Allow me to share a factoid: In February 2011, amendments to a bill pending in Parliament were laid in the Lok Sabha. The first: changing the first line on the bill—from “the Fifty-fifth Year” of the Republic of India to the “Sixty-second Year” of the republic. The second: changing the date of the bill—from “2004” to “2011”. Two years later—nine since its introduction—Seeds Bill 2004 is yet to be passed by you. The Bill, when(ever) Law, will regulate production, distribution and sale of seeds so as to ensure that farmers get quality seeds.
Would you, Members of Parliament, agree that it’s shameful that the most shackled sector should be denied assurance for nine long years? That too when the majority of you claim to be farmers and project farmer interests as your primary concern?
The Seeds Bill is only one of the 109 bills pending in Parliament. Among these, 14 date back to UPA I and eight relate to political issues where the government proposed to amend the Constitution. To get a sense of the magnitude of failure, consider the sectoral disaggregation (courtesy PRS Legislative Research): 14 of the pending bills deal with finance, 12 with human resource development, nine with internal security and home affairs, eight with health and family welfare, seven with labour and employment issues, six relate to agriculture.
In the case of 69 bills—introduced and pending—the Standing Committees have submitted their reports to Parliament, some as early as in 2005. These include bills vital for growth and better governance. Consider some examples of what Indians are being denied: The Right of Citizens for Time-bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill 2011, the Direct Tax Code, which is supposed to bring certainty into the tax regime for investors and taxpayers, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority Bill 2011 needed to give statutory powers for regulation of new pension schemes, the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions Bill 2010 for protection of young students.
Technically, once the Standing Committee has submitted its report, the pre-legislative process is complete. The onus is on the government to push the bills. The existence of this premise though does not make legislation a given! Take the National Identification Authority of India Bill introduced in 2010. The Standing Committee delivered its report in 2011. The bill seeks to establish an authority to lay down the guidelines and safeguards for the protection of privacy of Aadhar number holders. For over four years now, the UIDAI has been registering people and nearly 300 million have registered themselves—giving biometric and demographic information —to registrars. The government defines Aadhaar as a game-changer but has done little to push the bill for setting up the authority to ensure privacy and insure those registered.
There are pending bills and then there are semi-pending bills. Of the 109 bills, 14 have been passed in one House but not in the other. For instance, the Companies Bill. India has the most vexing and complex Companies Act. The government decided to draft a modern companies’ law for India in 2004. Since then, the new bill has seen three committees, three drafts, three introductions, three Standing Committees. In December 2012, young Sachin Pilot navigated the bill through a late-night sitting of the Lok Sabha. But the bill—six months later—is yet to be passed by the Rajya Sabha. Despite the all-party sloganeering on corruption, the Whistle Blower’s Bill 2011—aimed to protect persons making public disclosures about corruption—which was passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2011 is stuck in the Rajya Sabha for over 18 months. India holds the dubious record for the largest number of deaths in road accidents. In 2012, 139,091 people lost their lives in road accidents—that’s 15 deaths an hour! You would think these statistics call for action. Not really! The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill aimed at enhancing penalties and controls was introduced in May 2007, the Standing Committee submitted its report in April 2008, the Rajya Sabha passed it in May 2012. It is yet to be passed in the Lok Sabha.
The state of sloth is staggering. In 2006, amid the SEZ euphoria, you realised that the Land Acquisition Act—of 1894 vintage—should be dumped. Since 2007, when the first version of the bill was introduced in Parliament, it has seen three GoMs, three versions, has lapsed once, been scrutinised by two Standing Committees and yet another GoM set up in August 2012. In 2013, the Land Acquisition Bill is back in the Cabinet. And projects worth $100 billion, including over 100 of state and Central governments are stalled—all for want of the passing of a Bill into Law.
It’s true that the primary fault lies with the government, since it decides the order of business in Parliament. But could you say that MPs in both ruling and Opposition parties have pulled their weight? You can raise the issue of long-pending legislation in the House, with the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and the President. Surely, chairpersons of the 69 Standing Committees can question the government on the status of such bills. Surely the leaders of the Opposition in both Houses can corner the government’s floor managers. Surely pending bills can be a political issue.
Alas, that is not to be. On an average, this Lok Sabha—the least productive so far—has passed 24 bills a year compared to 52 passed by the 14th Lok Sabha. As MPs, you do need to follow partisan diktat for you are nominated to the seats by your parties. Do not forget though, that you also have an obligation to legislate. To represent the interests of those who elect you.
Is that too much to expect?
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