WEDNESDAY, THE 4TH DECEMBER, 2002 (The Rajya Sabha met in the Parliament House at 11-00 a.m.) 11-00 a.m. 1. Starred Questions The following Starred Questions were orally answered:- Starred Question No. 221 regarding Induction of AJT in Defence. Starred Question No. 223 regarding Jai Prakash Rozgar Guarantee Yojana. Starred Question No. 224 regarding Deportation of Abu Salem to . Starred Question No. 226 regarding Insurance schemes for handloom weavers in Andhra Pradesh. Starred Question No. 227 regarding Cooperation of State Governments in NCC activities. Starred Question No. 229 regarding Aircraft crashes. Starred Question No. 232 regarding Constitution of Central Negotiating Division for hostage situations. Starred Question No. 234 regarding Misuse of rice under Food for work Programme. Answers to remaining Starred Question Nos. 222, 225, 228, 230, 231, 233 and 235 to 240 were laid on the Table. 2. Unstarred Questions Answers to Unstarred Question Nos.1506 to 1650 were laid on the Table. 12-00 Noon 3. Statement by Minister Correcting Answer to Question Shri Chennamaneni Vidya Sagar Rao, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs laid on the Table a statement (in English and Hindi) correcting the reply given in the Rajya Sabha on the 31st July, 2002 to Unstarred Question 1540 regarding ‘Closures of relief camps in Gujarat’. 12-01 p.m. 4. Papers Laid on the Table Shri George Fernandes (Minister of Defence) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers under sub-section (1) of section 619A of the Companies Act, 1956:— (i) (a) Twenty-eighth Annual Report and Accounts of the Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, Hyderabad, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. (ii) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Goa Shipyard Limited, Vasco-da- Gama, Goa, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. (iii) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company.

Shri Anant Gangaram Geete (Minister of Power) laid on the Table the following papers:-

I. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Power Notification F. No. 2/2(1)/99-CERC dated the 18th July, 2002, publishing the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Recruitment, Control and Service Conditions of Staff) Regulations, 2002, under section 56 of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act, 1998. II. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India (Ministry of Power) and National Thermal Power Corporation Limited for the year 2002-2003.

Shri Basangouda R. Patil (Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles) laid on the Table the following papers:-

I. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers, under sub-section (1) of section 619A of the Companies Act, 1956:— (a) Thirty-second Annual Report and Accounts of the Cotton Corporation of India Limited, , for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Corporation. II. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (i) (a) Thirty-third Annual Report and Accounts of the Handloom Export Promotion Council, New Delhi, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Council. (ii) (a) Nineteenth Annual Report and Accounts of the Indian Silk Export Promotion Council, Mumbai, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Council. (iii) (a) Fifteenth Annual Report and Accounts of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), New Delhi, for the year 2000-2001, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute.

(c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) above. (iv) (a) Fifty-second Annual Report and Accounts of the Synthetic and Art Silk Mills’ Research Association, Mumbai, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Association. (v) (a) Twenty-second Annual Report and Accounts of the Man Made Textile Research Association, Surat, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Association. (vi) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Apparel Export Promotion Council, New Delhi, for the year 2001-2002, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Council.

Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad (Minister of State in the Ministries of Coal & Mines and Law & Justice) laid on the Table the following papers:-

I. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the and Mines (Department of Coal) Notification G.S.R. 572(E) dated the 16th August, 2002, amending the second Schedule to increasing the royalty rates on coal, under sub-section (1) of section 28 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. II. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Coal and Mines (Department of Coal) Notification G.S.R. 652(E) dated the 17th September, 2002, publishing the Corrigendum to Notification G.S.R. 572(E) dated the 16th August, 2002, in the English version.

Shri Chennamaneni Vidya Sagar Rao (Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Notifications of the Ministry of Home Affairs, under sub-section (3) of section 141 of the Border Security force Act, 1968:— (1) G.S.R. 264 dated the 20th July, 2002, publishing the Border Security Force (Tenure of Posting and Deputation Amendment) Rules, 2002. (2) G.S.R. 302 dated the 10th August, 2002, publishing the Electronic Data Processing Border Security Force, Principal System Analyst/Additional Deputy Inspector General and Programmer/ Assistant Commandant Recruitment Rules, 2002. 12-02 p.m. 5. Messages from the I. The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2002 II. The Mysore State Legislature (Delegation of Powers) Repeal Bill, 2002 III. The Freedom of Information Bill, 2002 Secretary-General reported to the House the following messages received from the Lok Sabha, signed by the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha:- (I) “In accordance with the provisions of rule 120 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, I am directed to inform you that Lok Sabha, at its sitting held on the 3rd December, 2002, agreed without any amendment to the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2002, which was passed by Rajya Sabha at its sitting held on the 20th November, 2002.” (II) “In accordance with the provisions of rule 96 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, I am directed to enclose the Mysore State Legislature (Delegation of Powers) Repeal Bill, 2002, as passed by Lok Sabha at its sitting held on the 3rd December, 2002.” (III) “In accordance with the provisions of rule 96 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, I am directed to enclose the Freedom of Information Bill, 2002, as passed by Lok Sabha at its sitting held on the 3rd December, 2002.” 6. Bills Laid on the Table Secretary-General laid on the Table the following papers, as passed by Lok Sabha:- I. The Mysore State Legislature (Delegation of Powers) Repeal Bill, 2002 II. The Freedom of Information Bill, 2002. 12-03 p.m. 7. Report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Functioning of Wakf Boards Shri Sangh Priya Gautam presented the Fifth Report (in English and Hindi) of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the functioning of Wakf Boards, on Assam Board of Wakfs. 12-10 p.m.## 8. Short Duration Discussion Shri Pranab Mukherjee raised a discussion on the Disinvestment of Public Sector Undertakings. The following Members took part in the discussion :- 12-41 p.m. 1. Shri C. Ramachandraiah 12-54 p.m. 2. Shri Dipankar Mukherjee 1-13 p.m. 3. Shri Rama Shanker Kaushik** 1-32 p.m. 4. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of State in the Ministries of Coal & Mines and Law and Justice 1-56 p.m. 5. Shri P. G. Narayanan 2-04 p.m. 6. Shri S. Viduthalai Virumbi 2-17 p.m. 7. Dr. Ramendra Kumar Yadav ‘Ravi’** 2-28 p.m. 8. Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy 2-42 p.m. 9. Shri J. Chitharanjan 2-53 p.m. 10. Shri Lalit Suri 3-04 p.m. 11. Shri Sanjay Nirumpam** 3-32 p.m. 12. Shri N. K. Premachandran 3-40 p.m. 13. Shri Murli Deora 3-51 p.m. 14. Shri Rajeev Shukla** 3-56 p.m. 15. Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’** 4-04 p.m. 16. Dr. Vijay Mallya 4-13 p.m. 17. Shri B. J. Panda 4-20 p.m. 18. Dr. M. N. Das

______## From 12-04 p.m. to 12-09 p.m. Some points were raised. ** Spoke in Hindi. 4-33 p.m. 19. Shri Fali S. Nariman 4-42 p.m. 20. Shri Ram Jethmalani 4-54 p.m. 21. Shri R. S. Gavai 5-03 p.m. 22. Miss Mabel Rebello 5-09 p.m. Shri Arun Shourie, Minister of Disinvestment, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of Commerce & Industry replied to the debate.

The discussion was concluded.

(The House adjourned at 6-44 p.m. till 11-00 a.m. on Thursday, the 5th December, 2002)