Standing Committee on Urban and Rural Development (1999-2000) 14
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
STANDING COMMITTEE ON URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (1999-2000) 14 THIRTEENTH LOK SABHA THE CONSTITUTION (EIGHTY-SIXTH AMENDMENT) BILL, 1999 FOURTEENTH REPORT Presented to Lok Sabha on 26-7-2000 Laid in Rajya Sabha on 2-7-2000 LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI CONTENTS COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE INTRODUCTION PART I Background of the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999 PART II Analysis of the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999 APPENDICES I. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999, as introduced in Rajya Sabha II. The copy of the opinion dated 24th October, 1997 of the Department of Legal Affairs on Arunachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Bill, 1997 III. The copy of the opinion dated 31st March, 2000 of the Department of Legal Affairs regarding applicability of article 243 D IV. Minutes of the Sixth sitting of the Committee held on 8th March, 2000 V. Minutes of the Seventeenth sitting of the Committee held on 10th May, 2000 VI. Minutes of the Nineteenth sitting of the Committee held on 8th June, 2000 VII. Minutes of the Twentieth sitting of the Committee held on 21st July, 2000 VIII. Statement of Recommendations/Observations COMPOSITION OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (1999-2000) Shri Anant Gangaram Geete - Chairman MEMBERS Lok Sabha 2. Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar 3. Shri Padmanava Behera 4. Shri Jaswant Singh Bishnoi 5. Shri A. Brahmanaiah 6. Shri Swadesh Chakrabortty 7. Shri Haribhai Chaudhary 8. Shri Bal Krishna Chauhan 9. Shri Chinmayanand Swami 10. Prof. Kailasho Devi 11. Shrimati Hema Gamang 12. Shri Holkhomang Haokip 13. Shri R.L. Jalappa 14. Shri Babubhai K. Katara 15. Shri Madan Lal Khurana 16. Shri P.R. Kyndiah 17. Shri Bir Singh Mahato *18. Shri Punnu Lal Mohale **19. Shrimati Ranee Narah 20. Dr. Ranjit Kumar Panja 21. Shri Ramchandra Paswan 22. Shri Chandresh Patel * Nominated w.e.f 6.4.2000 vice Shri Vijay Goel. ** Ceased to be a member of the Committee w.e.f. 6th July, 2000 consequent upon her nomination to the Committee on Defence. 23. Shri Dharam Raj Singh Patel *24. Prof. (Shrimati) A.K. Premajam 24. Shri Rajesh Ranjan 25. Shri Nikhilananda Sar 26. Shri Maheshwar Singh 27. Shri Sunder Lal Tiwari 28. Shri D. Venugopal 29. Shri Chintaman Wanaga Rajya Sabha **31. Shri S. Agni Raj 32. Shrimati Shabana Azmi 33. Shri Karnendu Bhattacharjee ***34. Shri Faqir Chand Mullana 35. Shri N.R. Dasari 36. Shri R.S. Gavai 37. Shri C. Apok Jamir 38. Prof. A. Lakshmisagar 39. Shri Onward L. Nongtdu 40. Shri N. Rajendran $41. Shri Man Mohan Samal 42. Shri Solipeta Ramachandra Reddy 43. Shri Suryabhan Patil Vahadane 44. Shri A. Vijaya Raghavan SECRETARIAT 1. Shri S.C. Rastogi - Joint Secretary 2. Shri P.K. Grover - Deputy Secretary 3. Shrimati Sudesh Luthra - Under Secretary 4. Shri A.K. Srivastava - Committee Officer *Nominated w.e.f. 24.1.2000. **Nominated w.e.f. 16.3.2000. ***Nominated w.e.f. 29.5.2000. $Nominated w.e.f. 16.5.2000. INTRODUCTION I, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Urban & Rural Development (1999-2000) having been authorised by the Committee to submit the Report on their behalf, present the Fourteenth Report on the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999. 2. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999 was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 17th December, 1999 and was referred to the Committee by the Hon’ble Speaker under rule 331E(1)(b) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha on 25th January, 2000. 3. The Committee considered the Bill at three sittings held on the 8th March, 10th May, and 8th June, 2000. In addition to obtaining written information on all the issues which have a bearing on the Bill from the Ministries of Rural Development, Home Affairs and Law, Justice and Company Affairs, oral evidence of the representatives of these Ministries was also taken by the Committee at their sittings held on the 8th March, 2000 and the 10th May, 2000. Besides, the Committee at their sitting held on 10th May, 2000 also heard the views of Shri Jarbom Gamlin, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Arunachal Pradesh on the provisions of the Bill. 4. The Committee at their sitting held on 21st July, 2000 considered and adopted the Report. 5. The Committee wish to express their thanks to the officers of the Ministries of Rural Development, Home Affairs and Law, Justice & Company Affairs who appeared before the Committee and placed their considered views. They also wish to thank the said Ministries for furnishing the requisite material on the points raised by the Committee in connection with the examination of the said Bill. 6. The Committee also express their thanks to Shri Jarbom Gamlin, Member of Parliament from Arunachal Pradesh for appearing and placing his considered views before the Committee. 7. The Committee would like to place on record their sense of deep appreciation for the invaluable assistance rendered to them by the officials of the Lok Sabha Secretariat attached to the Committee. NEW DELHI; ANANT GANGARAM GEETE, 25 July, 2000 Chairman, 3 Sravana, 1921 (Saka) Standing Committee on Urban and Rural Development. REPORT PART I BACKGROUND OF THE BILL The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 1999 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 17th December, 1999. 1.2 The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill inter alia states as under: “Article 243 D provides for reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in every Panchayat. ** ** ** ** Since no Scheduled Castes exist in the State and the State of Arunachal Pradesh is singularly free from the caste system, it is proposed to insert a new clause (3A) in article 243 M of the Constitution of India, to exempt the State of Arunachal Pradesh from the application of article 243 D relating to the reservation of seats in Panchayats for the Scheduled Castes” 1.3 The only operative clause of the Bill reads as under: “In article 243M of the Constitution, after clause(3), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:- ‘(3A) Nothing in article 243D, relating to reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes, shall apply to the State of Arunachal Pradesh’.” [A copy of the Bill is appended as Appendix-I] 1.4 While tracing the legislative history of the Bill, the Department of Rural Development in the Ministry of Rural Development had informed the Committee that the Constitution (Seventyt-third Amendment) Act, 1992 which inserted Part IX in the Constitution of India providing for matters relating to “Panchayats”, was brought into force with effect from the 24th April, 1993. The said Constitution Amendment Act provided that, within one year from the data of commencement of the Act, all the States shall amend their local Panchayat laws to bring them in conformity with the provisions of newly inserted provisions of Part IX of the Constitution. That exercise was to be completed before the 23rd April, 1994. As the deadline was to be adhered to, the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh on the 18th April, 1994 promulgated the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Ordinance, 1994. Till then, the provisions of North East Frontier Agency Panchayat Raj Regulation, 1967 governed the matters relating to Panchayats in Arunachal Pradesh. On the 9th September, 1994 the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Bill, 1994 for replacing the said Ordinance by an Act of the State Legislature. The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh reserved the Constitution Bill for the consideration of the President under Article 200 of the Constitution on the ground that the Bill did not provide for reservation for Scheduled Castes in Panchayats in Arunachal Pradesh. The Arunachal Pradesh, Panchayat Raj Bill, 1994 underwent further examination by the Central Government. Certain inadequacies to the extent that the Bill did not comply with the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution were identified. The inadequacies included the Bill’s non- compliance with Article 243D of the Constitution relating to provision of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Panchayats. The Department of Rural Development had brought those inadequacies to the notice of the Arunachal Pradesh Government. The President of India on the 2nd September, 1996 under proviso to article 201 of the Constitution, returned the Bill to the Legislature of the State of Arunachal Pradesh together with a message that the Legislature might reconsider the Bill and suitably amend it to provide for the following: “(1) setting up of Gram Sabha as envisaged in article 243 (B) of the Constitution and to entrust it with powers and functions, as envisaged in article 243 A of the Constitution; (2) reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes as enshrined in article 243D of the Constitution; (3) direct election to Panchayats from the territorial constituencies, as per article 243C(2) of the Constitution. Provisions for nomination of members to the Anchal Samiti and Zilla Parishad and the nominee to the Anchal Samiti becoming President of the Village Panchayat should also be reconsidered accordingly; and (4) the name of the State Election Commission should uniformly appear as such in all places in the Bill.” 1.5 The Arunachal Pradesh Legislature Assembly reconsidered the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Bill, 1994, as returned by the President of India, on the 18th and 19th March, 1997 and incorporated all the points mentioned by the President in his message except the point relating to reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes in Panchayats. The Bill was passed by the Assembly as the Arunachal Pradesh Panchayat Raj Bill, 1997. The Governor of Arunachal Pradesh again reserved the Bill for the consideration of the President.