LOK SABHA ______
SYNOPSIS OF DEBATES (Proceedings other than Questions & Answers) ______
Tuesday, March 17, 2015 / Phalguna 26, 1936 (Saka) ______
CALLING ATTENTION
Re: Situation arising due to use of harmful pesticides, especially
endosulfan in the country and their adverse impact on human life
SHRI P. KARUNAKARAN called the attention of the Minister of
Agriculture to the situation arising due to use of harmful pesticides, especially endosulfan in the country and their adverse impact on human life.
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF
AGRICULTURE (DR. SANJEEV BALYAN): Pesticides play an important role in sustaining agricultural production in the country by protecting crops from pests and diseases. Availability of safe and efficacious pesticides and their judicious use by the farming community is critical to a sustained increase in agricultural production and productivity.
Pesticides are also useful in health programmes for controlling vectors responsible for diseases like malaria. However, pesticides have toxic properties and need a well ordered system of management and regulation which encompasses all important stages in the life-cycle of pesticides, i.e., from import or production to sale and disposal.
The existing legislation for regulation of pesticides is the Insecticides Act,
1968. This Act regulates the import, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides with a view to prevent risks to human beings or animals, and for matters connected therewith. Pesticides are registered under the provisions of the
Insecticides Act, 1968 after a thorough technical evaluation of safety to human animal and environmental health. Pesticides are not likely to cause adverse effect on human health, flora and fauna, provided the usage is in accordance with the manner prescribed in the labels and leaflets approved by the Registration
Committee.
The National Policy for Farmers, 2007 acknowledged that „the triple alliance of pests, pathogens and weeds is cause of substantial crop losses every year‟. The
All India Report on Input Survey 2006-07 found that only 41 per cent of gross cropped area in the country was treated with chemical pesticides. The average pesticide application of around 500 gram active ingredients per hectare in India is far less than many developed and developing countries. Therefore, responsible and judicious use of pesticides is a sine qua non for sustainable agriculture and food security of the nation and global exports.
While recognizing the importance of chemical pesticides in Indian agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture has nevertheless taken steps to promote more ecology friendly strategies for pest management. The Government of India has set up 31 Central Integrated Pest Management Centres (CIPMCs) in various parts of the country under the central sector „Strengthening and Modernization of
Pest Management Approach in India‟ (SMPMA) Scheme to promote Integrated
Pest Management (IPM) in agriculture. The mandate of these Centres is to accord primacy in their activities and training programmes for Agriculture/Horticulture
Extension Offices and farmers to alternative pest management solutions like pests/disease monitoring, production and release of bio-control agents/bio- pesticides, conservation of naturally occurring bio-control agents. The IPM approach permits judicious and responsible use of chemical pesticides as a measure of last resort. Several State Governments have taken initiatives to promote IPM in their States and have accessed funds under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana to support such activities.
The Central Government has taken other significant steps on this issue, some of which are enumerated:
1. Guidelines for registration and commercialization of bio-pesticides have
been made less stringent as compared to those for chemical pesticides.
2. The safety of chemical pesticides are reviewed periodically by Expert
Committees. So far 28 pesticides and some of their formulations have
been banned/restricted from import, domestic production and use in the
country. Currently a technical review of safety of 66 pesticides is being carried out. Approval for use of 43 pesticides on 111 crops have been
withdrawn for want to Maximum Residue Levels.
3. The Central Government notified amendments in the Insecticides Rules
1971 to make Labels/Leaflets of pesticides containers more informative
and farmer friendly.
4. Packages of practices for pest management in 69 crops have been
reviewed and revised recently in an effort to align them with Good
Agricultural Practices.
5. State Governments and stakeholders are being exhorted to support a
„Grow Safe Food‟ campaign centered around the five essential principles
of judicious pesticides use – application of pesticides on the right crop,
against pests for which the pesticide has been approved, at the right time,
in approved doses, and as per approved method of application through
training and media campaigns in Gram Panchayats and rural areas.
6. Advisories have been sent to pesticides dealers to promote responsible
and judicious use of pesticides.
The Central Government has placed a complete ban on production, sale and use of the pesticide, endosulfan in the country on 14.5.2011 in compliance with an ad-interim order of the Supreme Court of India in Civil Writ Petition
No.213 of 2011, Democratic Youth Federation of India versus Union of India and others. The matter is still pending before the Court. Responding to the issue raised by Shri P. Karunakaran, the Minister further stated: When this problem cropped up in Kasargod, Rs.3 crore were released by the Government in 2014-15, Rs.2.28 crore in 2013-14 and Rs.5.36 crore in 2012-13. However, Health Ministry is looking after the work of rehabilitation. So far as the ban on certain pesticides in foreign countries is concerned, it is not necessary that we should also ban them immediately. We have our own system. We have constituted a committee regarding the ban on 66 pesticides in other countries. If the committee recommends to impose ban on these pesticides, it will be followed. So far as ban on endosulfan is concerned, it is banned in India since 2011.
SUBMISSIONS BY MEMBERS
(i) Re: Growing insecurity and fear due to rising incidents of religious intolerance across the country
THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF
HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to an issue raised by several hon. Members said: Regarding incidents which occurred in West Bengal, Haryana, Assam and Uttar Pradesh, I would like to say that what is important is that we should focus on the issue and highlight it in the
House and at the same time the concerned Government should take action in this regard. All of us should join together in condemning such heinous acts be in
Bengal, be in Haryana, be in other places.
(ii) Re: Gang rape of a Christian missionary in West Bengal.
THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF
HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to an issue raised by several hon. Members said: The Government of India will not shirk its responsibility as and when required to take necessary action. Keeping that in mind, the sensitivities also in mind - an atrocious thing has been done to an elderly nun who is serving the people - the Government of the day in Bengal has assured that they are taking action.
(iii) Re: Reported death of an IAS Officer at his residence in Bengaluru.
THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF
HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU) responding to an issue raised by several hon. Members said: Appeasement for none and justice for all is what our Government believes. Under the leadership of hon. Prime
Minister the country is peaceful and the country is perfect and people are happy.
*MATTERS UNDER RULE 377
(i) DR. BHAGIRATH PRASAD laid a statement regarding need to accord
environmental clearance to Kanera Irrigation Project in Bhind district of
Madhya Pradesh.
(ii) SHRIMATI JYOTI DHURVE laid a statement regarding need to
enhance the pension of retired coal mine workers particularly those
retired from Pathakhera coal mines in Baitul district of Madhya Pradesh.
(iii) SHRI BHARAT SINGH laid a statement regarding need to provide
clean drinking water to villages under Ballia Parliamentary Constituency,
Uttar Pradesh.
(iv) SHRI DADDAN MISHRA laid a statement regarding need to provide
adequate compensation to farmers who suffered from damage to their
crops caused by recent unseasonal rains and hailstorms in Shrawasti and
Balrampur districts of Uttar Pradesh.
(v) SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL laid a statement regarding need to
make provision for measurement of weight of goods-laden trucks at Toll
tax booths on National Highways.
(vi) SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN laid a statement regarding need to formulate a
strategy to check land-erosion caused by Brahmaputra in Assam and also
* Laid on the Table as directed by the Speaker. take measures to rehabilitate the homeless and landless people in the
State.
(vii) SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM laid a statement regarding need to
construct a bridge over river Sone near Srinagar in Garhwa district of
Jharkhand.
(viii) SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN laid a statement regarding need to
expedite construction of railway over-bridge between Nadiad and
Uttarsanda railway stations in Kheda Parliamentary Constituency,
Gujarat.
(ix) DR. RAMESH POKHRIYAL NISHANK laid a statement regarding
need to raise additional Battalions of Eco Task Force for maintenance
and restoration of ecology in hill States.
(x) DR. NEPAL SINGH laid a statement regarding need to take stringent
measures to check adulteration of milk and also take measures to stop
slaughter of milch animals in the country.
(xi) SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK laid a statement regarding need to check
the increasing pollution in Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh.
(xii) SHRIMATI R. VANAROJA laid a statement regarding need to
expedite widening of National Highway No. 66 between Tindivanam and
Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu. (xiii) SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL laid a statement regarding need to
take measures for welfare of honey-collectors in Sundarbans region of
West Bengal.
(xiv) SHRIMATI SAKUNTALA LAGURI laid a statement regarding need
to convert National Highway No.6 into four lane between Kharagpur and
Sambhalpur and construct a flyover/by-pass in Keonjhar city in Odisha.
(xv) SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT laid a statement regarding need
to address the problems of fishermen in the country.
(xvi) SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK laid a statement regarding need to
establish circuit bench of High Court of Bombay at Kolhapur.
(xvii) KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH laid a statement regarding need to
undertake electrification of all the villages under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen
Vidyutikaran Yojana in Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh.
(xviii) SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA laid a statement regarding need to
shift all district courts in Delhi under one single court complex at Pragati
Maidan, Delhi.
(xix) SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN laid a statement regarding need to
provide adequate funds for the timely completion of gauge conversion
work of railway line between Punalur (Kerala) and Sengottai (Tamil
Nadu).
BUDGET (GENERAL), 2015-2016-- GENERAL DISCUSSION
DEMANDS FOR GRANTS ON ACCOUNT (GENERAL), 2015-2016
SUPPLEMENTARY DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (GENERAL), 2014-2015 -
Contd.
PROF. SUGATA BOSE: The best research in economics over the last three decades has exploded the myth that cuts for the rich will somehow spur economic growth. Our economy needs the stimulus of greater public spending, particularly in social sectors, to quicken the pace of growth rather than any unnecessary tightening of the fiscal belt. Has the Finance Minister truly embraced the States as equal partners in the country's development as he claimed? The marginal increase in the State's share of revenue resources has come courtesy of the Finance
Commission, not through the largesse of this Government. The abolition of the
Planning Commission does not bode well for the future of federalism. The key economic decisions regarding allocations are being centralized under the Finance
Ministry. The Government talks about federalism and acts to centralize. As I had said on the budget last year that our future development has to be built on three pillars - infrastructure, education and health. I commend the Finance Minister once more for committing public funds to infrastructure projects, even though the funds may get clogged up if the infrastructure projects are not implemented fast. I must express my deep disappointment again at the utter neglect of education especially school education and public health. Spending on flagship projects on education such Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has suffered severe cuts. In the spirit of cooperative federalism, I urge the Finance Minister to support the most promising
State Universities and the fanfare over the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is masking the
Government's unwillingness to address the public health crisis looming across the country which should be done on a war-footing. To conclude the Finance
Minister's Budget Speech brought cheer to a handful of billionaires in our country.
I hope his reply today will offer something that might warm the hearts of a billion ordinary Indians. The Amirs can take care themselves. Please look after the interest of the fakirs of India.
SHRI BHAGAT SINGH KOSHYARI: The State of Uttarakhand has suffered a loss of about Rs. 2500 crore under new devolutionary system. It may be due to some faults in parameters but I request the Minister to revamp the parameters as Uttarakhand is a border State. The hon. Minister has tried his best to inculcate the habit of saving through schemes like Sukanya Yojana, Atal Yojana etc. announced in the budget. There are many provisions in the budget for the middle class. The persons earning up to 4,44,022 rupees have not to pay any income tax. The hon. Minister also mentioned in his budget speech to set up a
Monetary Bank for the unemployed youth, the poor, the artisans, backward peoples and small workmen engage in petty works. I hope all the expectations will be fulfilled. I also expect that my State Uttarakhand will also get the benefit on the lines of Chattisgarh and Jharkhand. SHRI DUSHYANT CHAUTALA: No budgetary allocation has been made for the schemes such as 'Per drop, more crop', Soil Health Card as also for traditional agriculture development scheme. Similarly no fund has been provided in the budget for providing compensation to the farmers for the crops which get damaged due to drought and hailstorms. The hon. Finance Minister had said that the MNREGA Scheme would be linked with agriculture but this has not been done in all these 10 months. We had demanded a central veterinary university in order to promote our indigenous breed of cattle. But the Government has not made any such provision. Not even a single rupee has been provided in the budget for constructing warehouses and godowns. Crops worth thousands of crore get perished due to shortage of storage capacity. Though we talk of strengthening our panchayats, not a single paisa has been budgeted for the purpose. We should pay as much attention on the development of rural areas also as much we pay on the urban areas. A cut has been effected for the first time in the budget provided for the Pradhan Mantri Grameen Sadak Yojana. The Government proposes to lay 7.50 thousand km of optic fiber to provide internet connectivity to the rural areas. But I think that the Government should have given more importance to the linking of remote rural areas with roads. As for smart cities, no layout has yet been finalized.
I would like to request to the Government to provide additional funds for the development of current eight counter magnetic cities of the NCR-Delhi. There is no separate fund provided for the development of rural health infrastructure. I request the hon. Minister to kindly introduce a separate scheme for the development of health infrastructure in rural areas. Besides, the Government should also focus on the cleaning of rivers and canals. I would also like to request the hon. Minister to kindly undertake the construction of those dams which could provide us additional power and could also tide over the water crisis being faced by Haryana and Delhi. Today there is urgent need of skill development in rural areas. I want to know whether this skill development would be confined to nearby villages of NCR only. I would also request to develop Kurukshetra in Haryana as tourist spot. The 2 per cent cess levied as service tax for the Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan should rather be levied on the corporate tax in order to provide relief to the poor and common man. Finally, I would like to request that MPLADS funds which is presently Rs. 5 crore should be enhanced to 10 crore.
SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT: I support the Budget 2015-
16 presented by Hon. Minister of Finance. The first priority of the Government is to provide safety and support to the food growth. The government has shown its priority towards food growers by sanctioning Rs.8.5 lakh crore for agricultural credit. Moreover, a provision of Rs.5300 crore has been made in Pradhanmantri
Agriculture Development scheme for irrigation. Rs.25,000 crore has been provided under the NABARD for Rural Infrastructure Development Fund. The short term loan of Rs. 45000 crore and Rs.15000 crore for cooperation loan is also a welcome step. Skill development and training programme is the priority of the Government. Now MUDRA Bank which will facilitate them in extending and operating their business. By making additional allocation of Rs.1000 crores to Nirbhaya Fund the
Government has made its priority clear for the safety of Women.
SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR: At the outset, I thank Hon‟ble Finance
Minister for his many initiatives in the Budget in order to give impetus to economic growth. Agricultural Credit target by Banks was fixed at Rs.8,50,000 crores for the financial year 2015-16. But Finance Minister failed to mention whether the last year target of Farm Credit of Rs.7,50,000 crores was achieved by
Banks. Sub-ceiling of 8% farm credit to small and marginal farmers should be increased to 12% of Bank‟s Credit. I humbly request the Finance Minister to revise this sub-ceiling upwards to 12% to enable millions of small and marginal farmers into the fold of institutional banking credit. I would request hon‟ble Finance
Minister to devise a reporting system by Banks which would furnish the number of loans and amount given under Agricultural Crop Loans to small and marginal farmers at quarterly intervals. I also urge upon Hon‟ble Finance Minister to furnish the Progress Report to Parliament in this regard either in Annual Economic Survey or Budget next year onwards. I request Hon‟ble Finance Minster to review the functioning and absorbing capacity of NABARD in the farm credit flow. I request the Finance Minister to revisit the concept of Farmers Producers Organizations
(FPOs) again. This Budget also failed to mention the continuation of Interest
Subventions Scheme with regard to Crop Loans given to small and marginal farmers so that farmers get the farm credit at 7% interest rate. I would also request the Government to furnish the statistics under PMJDY to Parliament village-wise, town-wise and state-wise. I welcome the initiative of MUDRA Bank to fund the unfunded. I request Hon‟ble Finance Minister to set up this Bank with head quarters in a city with less than one million population. MUDRA Bank should ensure that MFIs, which it refinances, should not charge more than 18% interest to ultimate borrowers. Budget proposal contain closure of many Central Schemes and pruning of allocation of funds to many Central Schemes. I would request the
Government of India to convene the meeting of all Chief Ministers to discuss this matter further and arrive at a consensus about its future approach to Central
Schemes so that States can be prepared for such eventualities. All India Institute of
Medical Sciences (AIIMS) should be set up in Telangana in this financial year itself. Indian Institute of Management (IIM) should be set up in Telangana. Govt. of Telangana allocated 200 acres of land to Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) for setting up their second campus in Hyderabad. I request the Govt. of
India to review the progress of this project and allocate suitable financial resources.
I would request that allocation should be spent in Telangana State for Highway projects and completing Pending Railway Projects. I would request Govt. of India to set up one of Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPP) in Telangana State. SHRI RAMSINH RATHWA: I welcome this budget. One of the main features of this budget is social security scheme, which will provide security to deprived people. The government has mentioned about “Make in India” The job opportunities will increase by focusing on industrial development. The tourism policy is being formulated to encourage tourism sector. The inclusion of “Beti
Bachao, Beti Padhao” scheme has changed the mindset of people of the country and special care is being given to birth, security and education of girl child. Special attention has been given to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and minority communities.
SHRI AKSHAY YADAV: No concrete step has been taken for poor and unemployed people in this budget. Unemployment is increasing. Today largest number of unemployed and educated young people lives in India. The daily needs of poor people have become more expensive. For strong vast economic infrastructure fast, continuous and comprehensive development is needed and this budget has no mention of that. This budget has ignored Uttar Pradesh. Many factories are being run in my district Firozabad, which are closing down for want of economic assistance.
SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA: This budget has come as a big disappointment to the poor, and especially farmers, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The center‟s total outlay for the agricultural sector has declined by 10.4 per cent from Rs.31,322 crore in 2014-15 to Rs. 28,050 crore in 2015-16. Krishi Vikas
Yojana‟s funds have been cut by 50 per cent and funds to National Food Security
Mission have been reduced by 28 per cent. The funds allocated for integrated watershed management, which is an absolutely crucial scheme for farmers in drought prone areas, has also been cut by 35 per cent. Quality of education for SCs and STs require attention. While dropout rates in school education across the country are 50.3 per cent, for tribals, it is alarming at 65.9 per cent. Yet, the allocation under tribal sub plan and scheduled castes sub plan was first slashed by
15 per cent during the last year, and reduced by another 10 per cent from the revised estimates in the present budget. As such, I do not support this budget.
SHRI JASVANTSINH SUMANBHAI BHABHOR: A balanced and foresighted budget has been presented for the Financial Year 2015-16 which will play an important role in the economic growth of the country. In this budget Atal
Pension Yojana has been announced along with raising the insurance amount to
Rs.2 lakhs under the Jan Dhan Yojana. The poor will have to pay just rupee 1 per month to take benefit of the Prime Minister insurance security and an accident insurance will be provided to the tune of Rs.2 lakh also under it. This budget will give a boost to „Make in India‟, „Digital India‟, „IT‟ and domestic industries. My government is committed to the welfare schemes going on for the scheduled casts, scheduled tribes and women, being sensitive to the needs of the poor and the deprived. I have proposed enhancement of allocation for these programmes:
Rs.30,851 crore be allocated for the scheduled castes, Rs.59,980 crore be allocated for the scheduled tribes and Rs.75,258 crore be allocated for women. An integrated education and livelihood scheme will be launched with the name „Nai Manzil‟ this year to enable those youth of the minority category who do not have formal school leaving certificate.
SHRI S.P. MUDDAHANUME GOWDA: If you look at the General
Budget, the farming side is totally neglected. To have better agriculture in the country, much importance should have been given to the irrigation. “Neeranchal”, the programme, which was announced in the 2014-15, is yet to be implemented.
This year, the Hon‟ble Finance Minister has totally neglected in providing sufficient funds for irrigation, keeping the food production into consideration.
Much importance should have been given for encouragement of the farmers to grow more to meet the self-sufficiency in food production. Hon‟ble Finance
Minister has disappointed the people who are poor and homeless in the country.
They promised that the black money will be brought back into the country within
150 days of our government. But, again unfortunately, even after 10 months, we have not seen any progress in this regard. So far as my Tumkur Parliamentary
Constituency is concerned, in the last year‟s Budget of 2014-15, the Government of India has announced the Chennai-Mumbai Industrial Corridor. But, so far, no action is taken in this regard. I urge upon the Government of India to start implementation of the Scheme in my Constituency, Tumkur in Karnataka.
SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK: Several parts of the state received heavy rainfall and hailstorms damaging standing rabi crop and horticulture. Over
100 tonnes of onion has been damaged. The orange farm fields have also been damaged in Kolhapur, Satara. Grape farms are also ruined in Nashik. The government is also not helping farmers. The damage will go up and if the government sticks to its figure of 20 per cent damage then farmers will have no option but to commit suicide. Now the farmers are further burdened with loans they cannot pay. Farmers need immediate relief. The government should come forward and help the farmers in overcoming this problem.
SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI: In this Budget many schemes have been announced for improving Indian agriculture like allocation of additional 5 million tonnes of rice to BPL and APL families, allocation of 10 million tonnes of wheat under open market sales, advisory to the states to allow free movements of fruits and vegetables and bringing onions and potatoes under the purview of the essential commodities Act. Every year 12 million job seeking youth come to job market.
This budget has solution in form of skill India concept. A dedicated Dept of skill development and entrepreneurship has been created. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya
Gramin Kaushal Yojana is a major step towards this end. Mudra Bank for SC/ST and other OBC based small and micro units is another major step where in achieving maximum social justice sought to be achieved. Employment for our youth has always been the major problem facing our economy. The solution for this lies in Skill India and make in India concept. There has been a marked increase of allocation on infrastructure. More than 1.25 lakh crores additional investment put in public investment is earmarked for infrastructure. We need to look at power situations with all seriousness and this Budget has given serious thought to it.
There is also impressive amount of social spending on education. As regards bringing back black money, this budget has taken step in the right direction by proposing penal legislation.
KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL: This is a farmer- friendly budget. The provision of Rs.8.5 lac crores for agriculture loan will boost up agriculture development. The target of production of nitrogen fertilizers to ensure increased availability of fertilizers will further provide relief to farmers. For the development of agriculture, the target of more crop per drop under Pradhan
Mantari Krishi Sinchai Yojana and a provision of Rs.125 crore for organic farming in north-eastern states will also provide help to agriculture sector and will strengthen the base of organic farming. Schemes for skill development and self- employment have been announced for the first time after independence in such a comprehensive manner to help the youth to be employable or get ample opportunity of employment. Accidental insurance of two lac Rs. at the nominal premium of Rs.12 only annual under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will provide protection to low income families from crisis. Insurance security of up to
Rs.2 lacs has been made available at the cost of less than one rupee per day under
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna. Contribution of 50 per cent of premium by the government for limited beneficiaries for five years to the accounts opened before 31 December 2015 under Atal Pension Yojna will also bring classes without social security under the cover.
SHRI DHARMENDRA KUMAR: The Government is fully committed to bring smile on the faces of common man. The Government has successfully controlled the inflation. There is a scheme to set up a hospital in very village with the introduction of new technology among the rural youth the skills and capabilities will be enhanced. A National Skill Mission is being started through
Skill development and entrepreneurism. National optical fiber network programme connecting 7.5 lakh people in 2.5 lakh villages is being boosted. There is a need to come forward in tourism sector. There is also need to pay attention towards the facilities for tourists and communities living around various heritage sites. There is a mention about installing GVS/CCTV/Panic button including national level vehicle security tracking system and city command and control centre will be set up. To save the girl child 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Abhiyan' has been started.
SHRI RAMESHWAR TELI: The Budget aims at welfare of common man and the success of Jan Dhan Yojana, coal block auctions and Swach Bharat
Abhiyan are biggest achievements of the Government. Further, roof for very family, 24 hour power supply, clean drinking water, toilet, means of livelihood for at least one member from each family, proper road connectivity, health care facilities, education, increase in agricultural productivity etc. are some laudable steps. I congratulate the Finance Minister for putting special emphasis on the development of North East region.
SHRIMATI KAMLA PAATLE: This Budget has come up to the aspirations and expectations of the people and the economy of the country would progress rapidly. This would increase the capital investment and create opportunities of employment among the youth. With the setting up of National
Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute it will pave way for manufacturing new drugs after undertaking research of the medicines available in this herbal state. I request to construct new capital of Chhattisgarh and develop the new Raipur as smart city by providing special economic package. Also develop the airstrips of the Bilaspur, Korba, Ambikapur as airport. Raipur Airport may be declared as International Airport and the old terminal or Raipur may be converted as Cargo terminal. The Head Post office of Champa in my Jajgir Parliamentary Constituency may be upgraded as General Post Office and include the district under BGRF scheme.
Irrigation facilities may be provided the left bank of Hansdev under Prime
Minister's Agriculture Scheme in Balauda District. Road from Raipur to Sarsiva via Balauda bazar, Kasdol, which has been designated as National Highway recently may be widened and bridges and culverts may be constructed afresh. A new Agricultural University in the name of Sant Shiromani Gurughasidas should be set up in my constituency as it is a agro dominated area.
DR. YASHWANT SINGH: The budget presented by hon'ble Minister of
Finance has come as a ray of hope to the poor people. 12.5 crore accounts have been opened under Jan-Dhan Yojana which is a historic beginning in itself. Based on Aadhar and biometrix system, corruption can be checked in all the government schemes meant for poor people.
Hon'ble Minister of Finance has resolved to set up 6 crore toilets.
Arrangements should be made to ensure that they should be as per the model standards. Their construction work should be monitored and accountability ensured. The standard of education in village primary schools is decreasing. An environment for education should be developed to provide equal status to each citizen of the country. I appreciate the step of providing senior secondary school within 5 kilometer, upgradation of 8000 secondary schools and upgrading 75,000
Junior/middle schools to senior secondary school for all the children. I welcome the scheme of hon'ble Minister for providing 6 crore dwelling units to the poor on the 75th anniversary of India's independence by the year 2022.
In such schemes the poor people have to contribute 10 percent of the cost at present. It should also be kept in mind that many poor people are unable to pay the said amount. Facilities of alternative energy such as solar energy system should be provided to poor and people belonging to dalit and backward classes free of cost.
Arrangements have been made to help the poor students in getting education by providing onetime payment from the Pradhan Mantri Vidhya Lakshmi Programme and starting 'Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Yojana' with the allotment of
Rs. 1500 crores has opened the employment avenues for youth in rural areas.
Legislation should be made for 100 per cent utilization of funds released to the states by union under S.C.S.P., Indira Aawas and other schemes for poor and the funds should be increased two to three time in each head.
SHRI CHANDRA PRAKASH JOSHI: The problems of labourers, youths and women have been taken care of in this budget. The budget is pro farmer and employment friendly for youths. For the social security of poor people this budget has Atal Yojana, Suraksha Bima Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Beema Yojana with the target of providing insurance cover to each citizen.
I would like to draw the attention of the Union Government towards the difficult conditions of Rajasthan. Geographically Rajasthan is the biggest state of the country which has the biggest desert of Asia. Rajasthan has only 1 percent of available under ground and surface water of the country and most development blocks of Rajasthan falls under dark zone. Special status should be provided to
Rajasthan and additional central assistance should be provided to the state for resolving the problem of potable water permanently and efficiently. I demand to include Chittorgarh Fort under heritage conservation and also demand to develop entire Rajasthan from the point of view of heritage tourism. The other special features of this budget are construction of 1 lakh kilometer of road, 6 crore toilets and providing 62 percent of total revenue to states, special emphasis on 'Make in
India' and development of villages.
SHRI A.T. NANA PATIL: The General Budget for 2015-16 has realised the vision of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'. In this Budget provisions have been made for health facilities for poor, accidental insurance cover of Rs. 2 lakh for poor on a monthly premium of one rupee and pension security for senior citizens.
1000 crore rupees have been given in 'Nirbhaya Fund' for safety and security of women. Pradhan Mantri Vidyalakshmi Yojana has been introduced for supporting students belonging to poor families in getting higher education. Deen Dayal
Grameen Kaushal Yojana has been introduced for imparting training to youth for promotion of self-employment and a provision of Rs. 1500 crore has been made for it. 150 crore rupees have been provided for Atal Innovation Scheme to promote research and development sector. In this budget, efforts have been made for development of poor, imparting education and employment to youth, providing safety to women, bringing prosperity among farmers and strengthening the economy. Pradhan Mantri
Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana has been initiated and target of agricultural loan has been enhanced to Rs. 8.5 crore rupees.
Several measures have been announced to enhance industrial production.
Corporate tax has been curtailed. Stringent measures have been taken to check accumulation of black money. A target of providing electricity to 20 thousand villages and poverty alleviation by 2022 has been fixed. Announcement has also been made to provide employment to every person.
SHRI B.N. CHANDRAPPA: I congratulate the Finance Minister for announcing setting up of one IIT in my state Karnataka and development of tourism infrastructure at Hampi. The Centre has reduced the financial grants for
Centrally Sponsored Schemes. I urge upon the Centre Government to allocate more funds to Karnataka to mitigate the problems faced by the State in mobilizing the additional amount. Funds for the development of Chitradurga Fort may be allocated. The budget has neglected the welfare of majority of the sections of the society and favoured only corporates and rich people. I welcome the social security scheme of the government and also other schemes for the welfare of senior citizens BPL category and all vulnerable sections of the society. An allocation for agriculture sector is very insufficient. The Government may reconsider delinking of some important schemes like BRGF and funds to states. Levying of additional taxes on petroleum products, coal and cigarettes and other services will burden all the section of society including farmers, small traders, women and this move would affect the construction activities.
The Finance Minister has not made any announcement of allocation for
Bengaluru-Mangaluru-Chennai infrastructure corridor and also for Bengaluru-
Mumbai infrastructure corridors which are essential to push exports. The
Government of Karnataka has submitted proposals for developing smart cities in the state. But in the budget, there is no mention in this regard.
SHRI HARISHCHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI: This budget is for all based on the concept of 'Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas'. The Government has fixed the target for providing housing to all by 2022 and also formulated a road map for the electrification of all villages and 24 hour power supply by 2020. The government desires development of our youth by creating employment on large scale in manufacturing sector through 'Make in India' and by imparting training under National Skill Development Mission and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen
Kaushalya Yojana. Youth is enthusiastic about the stringent law against corruption, ten years imprisonment for accumulation of black money, industrial corridor, self employment and talent utilization programme(SETU), job to one person of each family by 2022 and 24 hour power supply, senior secondary school at the distance of every 5 kilometers, setting up of several new IIT, IIMs and
AIIMS.
Our Government is making sincere efforts for poverty alleviation, therefore, the right of poor is being sent directly to their account. In few months we have made a world record by opening bank accounts of almost every family in the country under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Gas subsidy of crores of consumers is directly going in their accounts and the poor people will get the benefit of other schemes also directly to their accounts. There is a target to provide
Rs.5300 crores to make soil health card for improving agricultural production and to encourage organic crops, micro irrigation and water conservation and to provide loan of Rs.8.5 lacs during 2015-16. Government has started making institutional efforts to decentralise Indian economy by making 'MUDRA' bank of Rs.20,000 crore for mechanics, plumbers, carpenters, street venders and hawkers.
On the one hand a resolution for development of agriculture and on the other hand 'Make in India' and making of smart city and industrial corridors has been made to make our country at par with developed countries. Besides concrete steps like tax-free bond and setting up of public loan management agency has been taken for the investment in railways, road, power and irrigation projects. A provision has been made for the rural development including MGNREGA. I request the
Government to start Nand sugar mill in my constituency Basti in U.P. and start development work on priority basis in other several areas of Basti including Makhora, Shriginari, Chhavni, Shahid Sthal Swagniraman Chhapia, Amotha and open a medical college in Basti.
SHRI S. S. AHLUWALIA: The area from which I come is surrounded by four international borders and is also connected with two States. No development has taken place there even today. Good quality of fruits are grown there but there is no processing industry for their proper utilization. Nepali language is allowed for writing the UPSC exams but this language is not allowed for writing WBCS exams. This kind of step-motherly treatment is meted out to the youth of my area.
Our demand of including 11 communities in the list of tribal communities is still pending with the Ministry of Tribals. This demand should be met. I demand establishment of a Central University; National Institute of Technology (NIT); construction of an alternative National Highway from Siliguri via Mirik along
Balasan River to Darjeeling; establishment of a Fashion Technology Institute; establishment of a Sainik School; establishment of National Games and Sports
Academy; establishment of a Tea Auction Centre at Darjeeling; Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway to be revitalized for boosting the tourism sector; establish a
Broad-gauge Railway Terminal Station at Sukna; strengthening and widening of
National Highway 55 and 31 A; Central Government Engineering College funded by Government of India; Revival of trade route of Tibet via Jelep-la from
Kalimpong; and reservation of seats for students of this region in college/ institution of higher education including engineering, technical, medical and management, etc. all over India. We also need smart corridor. We also want an elevated highway by using latest technology from Ghoshpukar to Sewak Road without displacing people of the area.
SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA: The hon. Finance Minister has presented a progressive and development oriented budget which will expedite the development of Indian economy. Funds have been provided for Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana. Nai Manzil Scheme has been introduced for development of Minority. Focus has been given on the need of Skill Development among 54 per cent youth population of the county. Atal Pension Yojana, Pradhan
Mantri Bima Yojana, Jyoti E.P.F. Yojana, Provision of Rs.8.5 crore to provide loan to farmers, provision of developing Gujarat as new financial Centre on the lines of
Singapore, tax-free bonds for Railways and Roads are the salient features of the
Budget.
SHRI RAGHAV LAKHANPAL: This budget is a path breaking budget and it can rather be termed as a "Reform Document". The budget aims to create a solid economic foundation on which shall stand the building of our economy. The tax regime has been simplified. Under streamlining of financing structure, this budget has enabled financially weak peoples access to the financial system by virtue of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The environment of social security and stability has been created in this budget. In order to give a boost to agriculture and farm sector, many programs have been announced with a view to benefit the hardworking farmers of our country. The setting up of a skilled mission shall focus on the creation of an educated, skilled and employed India. Steps taken by the hon. Prime Minister such as Swachh Bharat and river cleaning shall ensure high quality of life to the citizens of our country.
SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO: In this Budget the Minister has chosen to reduce burden on the corporate sector by reducing corporate taxes from
30 percent to 25 percent over the next four years and some bold steps have been taken. SEBI has been merged with Forward Market Commission. Allocation for agriculture and AIBP have been reduced . Allocation under SC-ST Sub-plan have been reduced. There is a huge revenue deficit of about Rs. 16,000 crore in my
State, Andhra Pradesh. It has been promised that Andhra Pradesh Government would get Rs. 1 lakh crore to build a New Andhra Pradesh. There is nothing concrete and visible about this in the budget. The Finance Commission has treated
Andhra Pradesh at par with other States for both the purpose of tax devolutions and revenue deficit grant. The grants provided for rural and urban local bodies are insufficient. The Polavaram project is the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh. But the
Centre has earmarked a meagre amount of only Rs. 100 crores for this national project. No Special Development Package has been given to Andhra Pradesh as promised under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. I request to release at least Rs. 5000 crores during the current fiscal year for construction of new capital city for Andhra Pradesh. There is a need for finances for Andhra Pradesh Government to establish Airports, Ports, metro corridors, universities, Raj Bhavan,
High Court, Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, etc. I request the Finance Minister and the Railway Minister to set up a new Railway University in Palnadu area,
Guntur District. Government should take an expeditious decision for establishing a
Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor on the lines of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial
Corridor and develop Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupathi Airports to international standards. Likewise, Central Government shall examine feasibility of
Metro Rail facility in Visakhapatnam and should take initiatives to establish educational institutions of national importance in Andhra Pradesh. Works for establishing IIT at Tirupathi, AIIMS at Mangalagiri, National Institute of Disaster
Management between Guntur and Vijayawada and IIM at Vizag should be speeded up. More funds should be allocated for NIT, Central University, Petroleum Sector,
Tribal and Agricultural Universities for their completion in a fixed time. Railways should not be used for commercialization by inviting FDI to the tune of 100 percent.
SHRI P.C. GADDIGOUDAR: This Budget has been prepared and outlined as road map for the all round development of India. To provide a sense of security to common Indians Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Yojana is proposed to be launched.
To give a boost for self employment and to start their industry Government has proposed to start Mudra Bank to provide loans to the Entrepreneur. For a common tax payer the limit of Rs.444200/- has been fixed to give him exemption. A new plan called "Manzil" has been proposed for the welfare of minority youths in the country. For the upliftment of Scheduled Caste people Rs.30851 crores and women related programme Rs.79258 crores has been earmarked. The PPP mode of development is supposed to be relooked and simplified to make it more effective. Provision of Rs.35,000 crores towards Rail infrastructure is welcome step. Provision of Rs.34699 crores towards MGNREGA Plan has been proposed.
The auction of coal blocks has been made more transparent and fair. To convert the dream of Swachh Bharat is being transformed into action by already making 50 lakh toilets and target of making 6 crores toilets has been fixed. The two plans has been launched named as Atal Pension Yojana and Navonmesh Mission is proposed. An amount of Rs.8.5 lakh crores has been earmarked for the welfare of poor farmers and bail them out from their current problems. Wealth tax has been removed but 2 percent cess will be charged on an income of Rs.1 crore.
SHRI SHIVKUMAR UDASI: The Finance Minister has presented a broad- based Budget focused on inclusive growth of diverse sections of society. The
Budget allocation has gone up significantly to more than Rs. 75,000 crore for the infrastructure space. The Government's thrust on renewable energy is clearly visible in the target of achieving 175 GW by 2022 comprising of 60GW wind energy. The Budget in all is a very positive one. The Government should formulate a comprehensive policy for crop failure due to weak monsoons/drought and standing crops destroyed by wild animals. The Government should consider paying compensation per acre towards crop loss. The Government should consider to launch a Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme to mitigate the hardships of the insured farmers against the likelihood of financial loss. The
Government should consider the demand of Anganwadi Workers and Helpers to hike the minimum monthly wage and enhance the honorarium of Anganwadi workers and absorb the workers and assistants as class III or class IV full time employees. The Government should consider the demand of Members of
Parliament to increase the MP Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds to Rs. 25 crore annually.
SHRI K. PARASURAMAN: I thank Hon‟ble Puratchithalaivi Amma for giving me an opportunity to speak on Discussion on General Budget for 2015-16.
As mentioned by Hon‟ble Amma, abolition of wealth tax and 2% tax increase for very rich persons are some of the welcome initiatives in this budget. To boost GST regimes there is no announcement for GST relief. There are no strong provisions for bringing hopes to States which implement GST. In Tamil Nadu Hon‟ble Amma has increased the budgetary allocation of all the sectors particularly in Agriculture and Women and Child Development. Hon‟ble Puratchithalaivi Amma legally fought the battle to restore the water sharing rights to Tamil Nadu as regards
Cauvery river. I urge that Union Government should help schemes aimed at starting agriculture related industries in rural areas. I also urge that a fertilizer factory should be set up in Thanjavur benefiting farmers of 10 districts. I urge that industries relating to residual products of rice and coconut should be started in
Thanjavur. An Agricultural University should be set up in Thanjavur. I urge by combining the pilgrim centres in and around Thanjavur, this city should be announced as a Smart City by the Union Government. I also have demanded for a
National Highway in Thanjavur. I urge that Basic Sciences should also be taught in language Universities. Separate funds should be allocated for revamping drama and ancient dance forms. Necessary measures should be taken by Union
Government for providing own building to Kendriya Vidyalaya in Thanjavur.
AIIMS like institution should be set up in Sengipatti between Trichy and
Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. There should be adequate storing facilities for food grains produced in and around Thanjavur. More funds should be allocated for providing lodging and basic amenities for lakhs of pilgrims who will arrive at
Kumbakonam for Maha Maham. Union Government should allocate funds for desilting ponds, lakes and water bodies in 10 districts around Thanjavur. A small airport should be set up in Thanjavur. Interest subsidy should reach the students who deserve it. Educational aids are provided free of cost to all the students and it should be implemented throughout the country.
SHRI A. ARUNMOZHITHEVAN: The Budget missed the opportunity to showcase 'Achche Din'. Sufficient funds must be allocated for the social welfare programmes and schemes. National Highway Road from Cuddalore-Vadalur-
Virudhachalan-Veppur-Salem is in very poor condition, which need to be repaired. On National Highway-45-B from Vikaravandi-Panruti-Vadalur-
Kumbakonam road also requires urgent repairs. Trichy Airport may kindly be included as a Point of Call so that foreign airlines can start their operations from
Trichy Airport. Neyveli Lignite Corporation must come forward on its own to make efforts to expand water resources in Cuddalore District. People whose land have been acquired for mining purpose by NLC have to be duly compensated with alternative sites and employment opportunities. Suitable compensation must be paid without undue delay to the affected families. Contract labourers working with the NLC for many years must have job security. I urge the Union Government to immediately set up a Temporary Rescue Centre for stray crocodiles in my constituency in Neyveli. A carrying capacity study should be conducted before any further industrial expansion is undertaken in Cuddalore. It is important to ensure that industrial growth in Cuddalore does not come at the cost of agriculture and fisheries which provide livelihoods to lakhs of people. The Government is requested to conduct a comprehensive and cumulative environmental impact assessment study of SIPCOT phases 1, 2 and 3. The study should aim to assess the earning capacity of the region. Conduct a transparent calculation of comprehensive
Environmental pollution index and suggest measures to alleviate ongoing pollution. Identify coastal stretches vulnerable to extreme climate event and suggest setbacks from such areas for location of critical infrastructure. There is an urgent need to going for desilting and deepening of Cuddalore port. The Government must come forward to increase the MPLAD fund from Rs. five crore to Rs. 36 crores. Hon'ble Amma has said that it is disappointing to see that no
World Cultural Heritage Site from Tamil Nadu has been selected for assistance under the World Heritage Sites. Adequate funds must be made available for
Madurai-Thoothukudi and Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridors. It is also disappointing to note that the salaried and middle class people are not given any concessions.
SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK: This Budget aims at strengthening the economy of the country. Special attention has been given to the rural areas in this Budget. This Budget seeks to strengthen the infrastructure and bring happiness to the poor. I would like to request the Hon'ble Minister for
Finance to increase the tax exemption limit for middle class income tax payers from fifty thousand to about 2.5 to 3 lakhs Rupees.
SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL: This budget has been papered focusing common man. Efforts have been made to put economy on track staggering since last 10 years. Social infrastructure has been focused including investment in this budget. The provision of loan to agriculture sector will accelerate agricultural growth. The target of nitrogen mixed fertilizers would increases availability of fertilizers. Prahdhan Mantri Gram Sinchai Yojna would strengthen the base of agricultural sector and organic farming and facilitate supply of drinking water in rural habitations. In this budget, social security has been provided to each section of society effectively. Sections having no access to social security have been covered under pension benefits. Setting up of Senior Citizens Welfare Fund is an appreciable step. All efforts have been made for industrial development with
Make in India. Increase in custom duty on steel would boost production in the country. National Security has been accorded priority. There is a proposal to provide financial assistance to skill based self employment. Targets have been fixed to provide education to all by the year 2025 and houses to all by the year
2022. All efforts have been made to provide more funds to states.
SHRI HARIOM SINGH RATHORE: In this budget the concept of Sarva
Jan Hitaya, Sarva Jan Sukhaya has been taken into account. Indian economy is heading for higher growth rate. Fiscal deficit has been proposed at 4.1 percent.
This budget will facilitate employment to youth, prosperity of farmers, upliftment of poor and accelerate progress of the country. In this budget for youth, Make in
India, Deen Dayal Grameen Kaushal Yojna, opening of new I.I.Ts., Management
Colleges and Institutes and Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi Karyakram and earmarking 7.9 percent of the budget for youth are included. In this budget for women, Nirbhaya Fund, Beti Bachao Abhiyan, Sukanya Samridhi Khata Yojna and earmarking 3.9 percent of budget for women is included. In this budget, for farmers soil testing card, promotion to traditional methods of farming, Pradhan
Mantri Sinchai Yojna, Low interest rate loans to farmers are included. In this budget for poor, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna, Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojna, Atal Pension Yojna, Infrastructure development, electrification of villages, food security, increase in subsidy on kerosene and manure, health and education to each; housing and toilet construction are included. In this budget for medium class more tax rebate and matters of health insurance; transport expenses are included. In this budget for businessmen, corporate tax deduction (GST), single window scheme, abolition of health tax are included. Bringing heritage of the country on international map, Namami Ganga Yojna, smooth movement of road railway traffic are included. Inclusive growth is reflected in this budget.
SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: This budget is progressive and practical, attracting FDIs in the country. This is a pro-poor budget having a concern about middle class and youths and which will bring an all round changes.
It is development oriented budget. Allocations have been increased for social liabilities, development of basic infrastructures in rural areas, irrigation and scheme like MNREGA in this budget. Emphasis has been given on generation of employment through 'Make In India' programme. ISM, Dhanbad has been given status of an I.I.T. Efforts made to check black money and to provide social security to the poor is praiseworthy. A proposal has been made for life insurance, accident insurance and pension scheme for economically poor people. Exemption limit has been increased from 15 thousand to 25 thousand rupee and for senior citizens it has been made 30 thousand. A target has been fixed for houses, employment and health for all and total electrification by 2022. It is a "budget for all".
SHRI LALLU SINGH: This budget will pave the way for overall development. In this budget a provision has been made for issuance of soil health card. An ambitious Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana has been launched. Plan has been made for increasing foodgrain reserve of the country. There is a target of issuing 8.5 lakh Kisan credit cards during next financial year. Through „made in
India‟ opportunity for additional jobs will increase. There is a target for making a higher secondary school available within every five kilometers through Pradhan
Mantri Vidya Laxmi Karyakram. Deen Dayal Upadhyay rural skill scheme will pave way for new jobs. New schemes like PM Jyoti Bima Yojana, PM Surakksha
Bima Yojana alongwith Atal Pension Yojana for elderly people have been announced. There is a target for making 6 crore dwelling units in rural and urban areas by the year 2020. Nirbhaya Fund with a provision of One Thousand Crore has been set up for the safety of women.
SHRI RAHUL KASWAN: This budget allocation is going to be beneficial for every citizen of the country. Rs.5300 crore has been allocated for Prime
Minister Irrigation Scheme. Sufficient funds have been earmarked for providing loan to farmers. Soil health card has been launched. Every citizen has been given
Rs.2.00 lakh each as accident insurance and life insurance cover under Pradhan
Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. The annual budget for MGNREGA has been increased by Rs.5000 crore. There is a target for electrification of every village by the year 2020. The Government has announced to set up three Pharmaceutical and Research Institute in the field of health. I urge upon the Government to set up one of this announced Pharmaceutical and Research Institute in my Parliamentary constituency Churu, Rajasthan.
SHRI HARISH MEENA: I support this budget as it will lead Indian economy to high growth rate. At the same time, special emphasis has been laid on the promotion of investment in infrastructure development. Social security scheme is the salient feature of this budget as the social security has been provided to the deprived sections of our society in this budget. The industry will acquire momentum with this budget leading to the realisation of the dream project Make in
India. At last, I would like to draw the attention of the Finance Minister to the flagship schemes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Mid-day Meal Scheme and
Development of Scheduled Castes/ Schedule Tribes for which allocation has been cut down as compared to the previous year. This may adversely affect the development of the weaker sections of our society. It is, therefore, requested that the budgetary allocation for these schemes may be increased.
DR. MANOJ RAJORIA: This budget will turn out to be the cornerstone of the future of 1.25 billion people of the country. An allocation of Rs. 34,699 crore has been made for the flagship scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme. Rs. 14,200 crore has been allocated for the mission "Housing For all" to realise the dream of the Prime Minister to provide housing to every family. A budgetary provision of Rs. 5300 crore has been made for Prime Minister Agriculture Irrigation Scheme. Rs. 4500 crore has been allocated to Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana to supply power to every village and every household. A thrust has been give on employment generation and skill development by allocating Rs. 3343 crore for National Livelihood Mission and by earmarking 7.9 per cent amount of the budget for these purposes.
Moreover, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and
Atal Pension Scheme for elderly persons have also been announced. A budgetary provision of Rs. 2510 crore has been made for information technology and telecommunication network under Digital India. The defence sector has also been accorded priority with the budgetary allocation of Rs. 2,46,272 crore particularly for the security of the boundaries of the country.
SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL: This budget is focused towards accelerating the development of the country and with this budget the country shall be easily able to achieve growth of 8.5 percent from the current 8.1 percent, during the next financial year. In this budget provisions have been made for many schemes for the youth minorities, middle income group, women, agriculture and farmers. Hon. Prime Minister has launched „Swaachta Abhiyan‟ along with initiating making of toilets in rural areas. A provision for Rs. 1500 crore has been made for skill development also in this budget. SHRIMATI DARSHANA VIKRAM JARDOSH: Everyone has got something in this Budget. Every person shall be easily benefitted from family pension and the same shall be paid by way of bank debit card only. Hon. Prime
Minister has launched the Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojna, Pradhan Mantri‟s Jeevan
Jyoti Bima Yojna and Atal Bima Yojna. This budget has paid attention towards the poor, farmers and backward class people. The Government has targeted to provide work for every hand, water for every field and electricity for every household. The Government has tried to meet the expectations of the youth for employment through Make in India. In order to promote entrepreneurship sector, a lot of suggestions like setting up a National Skill Development Mission, allocation of Rs.140 crore for research and development, a separate system for setting up new industry, allocation of Rs.1400 crore for setting up new higher education institutes and providing insurance cover by way of social security, have been included in this budget. „Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas‟ is the moto of this Government for development.
SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH: In my constituency Indian School of
Mines, Dhanbad has been accorded status of an I.I.T. in this budget. This budget is a progressive and developing one and all sections of the society have been taken care of in it. In urban areas 2 crore and in rural areas 4 crore houses are to be provided to the poor and 24X7 hour power, pure drinking water and roads are proposed in it. It shows the humane attitude of the Government. Jan Dhan Yojana has been started which provides accident, birth-death insurance of 2 lakh rupees with a contribution of 1 rupee per month under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima
Yojana. Special attention has been given to poor youths under Skill India. Priority has been given on providing employments to youths by developing their skills.
This budget mentions about Green India, interests of farmers and promotion of tourism in India. 'Make In India' has been envisaged as a programme which will boost the economy and trades of the country and will generate employments, Clean
India is the priority of the Government. This budget has a concern about businessmen, middle class people, women, the old people, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Though Jharkhand is a mineral rich state but a poor one.
Economic imbalances in respect of this state should be ended.
SHRIMATI JAYSHREEBEN PATEL: This government has reflected its political will power and also has taken reform measures in this budget. The three main features of this Budget are the 'Jan-Dhan Yojana' the 'bidding of coal blocks' and The 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan'. It would raise investment and will help to complete the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The Government has raised expenditure on infrastructure development to Rs. 700,000 crore and has set up a National
Investment Fund. Rs. 2,46,727 crore has been allocated for the modernisation of defence Sector. This was essential in the present international scenario. Rs. 1000 crore has been allocated for the Nirbhaya Fund for the security of women. This shows that the Government is committed to security of women. Special stress has been laid on education and skill development in this budget. The Deendayal
Gramin Kaushal Yojana has been chalked out to provide employment to the youth of both the Urban and Rural areas. For this Rs. 1500 crore has been provided.
On-Line Arrival Visa facility has been extended to 150 countries. This facility was earlier available to a limited number of only 43 countries. The announcement of preserving and up-keeping 9 world heritage sites shows that the government is going to generate tourism in India. This will promote employment also. The launching of the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana will provide opportunity for the backward classes of the country to make uplift themselves. The NDA government has declared the Atal Pension Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana in the Social Security Sector. This is a great step taken for the poor, the deprive and the needy persons. The BBB has been set up to promote the working skill of banks. Village is the central point in this budget. 50 lakh toilets have been set up. 4 crore more buildings would be set up, round the clock power would be supplied in villages by 2022. Moreover, commitment has been made to construct roads of 1 lakh kilo meter stretch. Every village would have at least one hospital. For the uplift of the poor the government has provided Rs. 34699 crore under the MNREGA Scheme. The UPA
Government had covered the cooperative sector under the income tax net in 2010.
This sector should be excluded from the scope of income tax because the poor farmers of village are associated with cooperatives. SHRI BAHADUR SINGH KOLI: The transparent auction of coal blocks would fetch lakhs of crores of rupees and this will hugely benefit coal owning states. 50 lakh toilets are built during the previous financial year under the Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan and 2 crore more toilets are proposed to be built. The government has promised to upgrade 75 thousand primary/ middle schools and 80 thousand secondary schools. The means of the communication would be provided all over the country. Better medical facility would be provided in every city and every village. Those 20,000 villages who are now without electricity, would be electrified. The Skill India and Make in India schemes are going to give great responsibility on 35 per cent of Indian youth. This would make them self- dependent. It is for the first time that the government has introduced monetization of gold. The government has taken sincere step for the security of women by providing Rs. 1000 crores in the Nirbhaya Fund. The sanction of 5 mega power project shows that the government is going to bring about revolution in the energy sector. The direct transfer of money in the bank accounts of a major chunk of youth under the Deendayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana will promote their skill development and give a new direction to the youth.
SHRI OM BIRLA: Raising the tax share of states to 42 per cent has empowered states. They would now get more resources. Under the Pradhan
Mantri Surakhsa Bima Yojana Insurance of Rs. 2 lakh would be provided for paying every year Rs. 12. Under the Atal pension Yojana people of the age group of 18 to 40 would be covered definite pension of upto Rs. 1000 every year with certain subscription. The government has introduced the Beti Bachao Beto Padhao
Yojana under which Rs. 100 crore has been provided and Rs. 438 crore has been provided under the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana. The Budget allocation for women welfare scheme has been raised to Rs. 79, 258 crore.
Provision has been made to set up a senior secondary school within the radius of 5 kilo meters and upgrade 80,000 secondary schools and 75, 000 junior/ middle schools. The government is committed to work for the development of 25 heritage sites of cultural importance. It is very sad that all the crops have been destroyed due to hail storm in Rajasthan. My suggestion is that a pro-farmer Harvest
Insurance Policy should be framed afresh. A harvest guarantee insurance should be implemented wherein the Centre should contribute 75 per cent and the state should contribute 25 per cent of the premium. Under the present system only those farmers who seek loans from banks get the benefit of insurance scheme. It is sad that the cooperative banks do not reveal to farmer while giving them loan and the amount of the crop insurance is deducted in advance while giving them loan. This compulsory condition should be done away with. There is provision of giving relief to farmers only when the 50 per cent crops of the crop areas are destroyed.
This figure should be reduced to 25 per cent. The amount of loan provided by cooperative banks through NABARD should be raised so that more and more farmers are benefited. The ratio of Centre (NABARD) and states should be 70 : 30 in the loan amount. Owing to scarcity of water, Rajasthan should be accorded status of a special state and special aid must be provided for irrigation and drinking water. For the want of refinery in Rajasthan the entire country is deprived of the benefit of the huge reserve of petroleum in the state. 25 heritage sites of cultural importance are proposed to be developed. Kota should be made a tourism circuit.
Area-wise Rajasthan is the largest state. Its population density is very low.
Villages having small population are scattered in far-flung areas. Given the geographical anomaly action plan should be made and budget should be allocated accordingly to link small villages with main road. Priority should be given to electrify the villages under the Rural Electrification Scheme. An AIIMS should be set up in Kota to cater to the medical need of the people there. There are two central schools in Kota. One more central school should be opened there.
SHRIMATI KIRRON KHER: I would like to thank the Honourable
Finance Minister for a Budget that focuses on all the right things: job creation, financial inclusion, ease of doing business, digital connectivity, rural development.
On the other hand, food subsidy, as a percentage of total expenditure stands at 7 per cent. The Budget estimate for MGNREGA has been increased by 1700 crores from last year's revised estimates. The vision of this Govt. - of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi - has been to empower our people to earn livelihoods that can meet their aspirations. The Skill Development initiatives of the Govt. are clearly the need of the hour. The Budget also has a sharp focus on social security. The plan to give low premium accident and health insurance to India's poor is a welcome step.
I am from the World of Art. The Finance Minister has announced a new Film
Institute for Arunachal Pradesh - and I want to say this is a welcome move as it will help in identifying more talent from the North East. I think my constituency,
Chandigarh, is the perfect location for such an institute. I request the Government to make arrangements for the same.
SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN: To fulfil the aspiration of the peoples of our great country, the Finance Minister submitted a budget with indifference to march the country forward with good pace. Being an peoples representative from North East,
I am deeply pleased for his declaration to ''mainstreaming the North Eastern
States''. I am very much confident that he will pay his attention to create required infrastructure to materialize the same. I am also thankful for the inclusion of development of North East in the agenda of ''Amrut Mahotsav''. I also like to draw kind attention of the Hon'ble Finance Minister to the issue of 7th Pay Commission.
I feel it necessary to consider revision of pay of the employees of the nationalized bank also along with the central government employees to encourage them to render their valuable service dedicatedly. Madam Speaker, the Finance Minister appropriately earmarked sizeable fund for the agricultural sector in different sub heads. I feel pain to mention here that North Eastern region has the maximum
Water resources. But, only 10 per cent of the agricultural fields are covered under irrigation scheme. So, I shall earnestly request the Hon'ble Finance Minister to review the budget allocation of agriculture sector and to give more fund in the irrigation head. I am going to draw special attention of the Finance Minister to the top most priority of Assam. I feel pain to see nothing in the Budget about the burning problem of Assam Valley, the perennial flood & erosion by the father
Brahmaputra.
SHRI DADDAN MISHRA: More than 50 per cent of our population is upto 30 years of age. Make in India Programme have been given priority in this budget to provide employment to every person according to his skill. To make better atmosphere for investment in industry, emphasis have been given in the budget on E-business portal, and rebate in various duties as well as technological upgradation. No discrimination is made between rural and urban areas. 'Atal
Pension Scheme' has been announced for common man. First time in the budget an announcement for agriculture market have been made. There is a scheme to equip villages with latest techniques. Definitely, this budget is different from traditional populist budgets but first time a budget is putting emphasis on basic infrastructure to make improvement and give a new direction to the economy of the country. My
Parliament Constituency area Shrawati, Balrampur, which is situated in the 'tarai' area in Uttar Pradesh adjacent to Nepal border is quite backward from economic point of view. I urge you to establish industries on the vacant Government land for industrial development of 'tarai' area through special economic package so that employment may be provided to local people of the area. SHRI CHANDULAL SAHU: Special emphasis have been given in Budget for revving up economic development and social security. The common man of the country have been linked with banks by starting 'Pradhan Mantri Jan-dhan
Yojana' so that even poor people may reap the benefit of insurance and they may avail the benefits of pension scheme and other grants given by Government through banks. Irrigation schemes are critical for the development of farmers for which 'Pradhan Mantri Sinchai Yojana' have been initiated. There is a severe shortage of teachers in Chhattisgarh. To remove this shortage medical college may be opened in Mahasamund and Dhamtari area of my Parliamentary
Constituency.
SHRI RAVINDER KUSHAWAHA: In the Budget for the year 2015-16,
Government has taken steps to increase share of manufacturing industry and
Agriculture in GDP. This would help in increasing the speed of growth rate. In this budget stress has been laid in the areas of irrigation and soil testing. As a result of this, Agricultural production would increase. Farmers would get good rate for their product. 75 per cent government jobs belong to agriculture and manufacturing areas. Jobs will increase in these sectors. Youth are inspired to become entrepreneur. Government has announced construction of rural houses up to 4 crores in Rural Areas and 2 crores in Urban Areas. Government has committed to provide basic facilities as electricity, drinking water and toilets in full
24 hour to all. Where agriculture loans to farmers have been increased, there MGNREGA Budget has also been increased. One thousand crore rupees provision in 'Nirbhaya Fund' has been given for women security. An assurance had been given by government to give more attention to the development of Eastern Uttar
Pradesh as for the North Eastern States. The youth of this area had a new hope for getting employment, so they would not have to migrate to urban areas. So the closed sugar mills of Purvanchal should be revived and the closed fertilizer plant should also be revived. Effective measures should be taken to check flood problem in Purvanchal. In the discussion Hon. Member have demanded to raise the funds in MPLAD scheme. This fund should be raised to 25 crore rupees.
SHRI ARJUN RAM MEGHWAL: MUDRA Bank has been set up for
SC/ST/OBC Entrepreneurs. It is very good step for the development of
SC/ST/OBC Enterprises.
DR. RAMESH POKHRIYAL NISHANK: In this Budget Hon. Minister has reflected for sightedness, planning, capacity, leading nation capacity and wonderful intelligence be it the area of social and economic change, tourism, foreign investment new social initiative, human resource development, power and environment protection or garner resources and area of management or equalitative reform in management policies, to accept the recommendations of 14th Finance
Commission regarding transference of central taxes to states. Niti Ayog has been constituted . In this Budget for technology development for new enterprises, 1000 crore rupees provision has been made. A provision has been made that employment to one person in each family will be given. Inside the five kilometer area each student shall get school for education upt 12th standard. In 150 countries, visa on arrival facility has been provided for the first time. Every state has been given one or the other benefit. Provision have been given to start new
IIT's. AIIMS and other scientific education centres or Research centres or
Apprentice Centres. For skill development facilities in Youth 'Make in India' and
'Skill India' Schemes have been envisaged so as to provide them employment to 70 per cent rural people. Rs. 500 crore allocation has been granted to Pandit Deen
Dayal Upadhaya rural skill development yojana. Monitoring of loan and scholarship facilities to students would be done and it would be assured that no student is compelled to leave education in between due to lack of resources. Tax free bonds have proposed for development of Railway basic infrastructure and road. For increasing power supply 400 megawatt five new units shall be started.
Keeping in view the importance of higher education and research for the development of nation 69,968 crore rupees have been allocated. For defence sector also 246727 rupees allocation has been made. Government does not consider a proposal to stop subsidy, but the objective is to implement it properly,
'MUDRA' bank is proposed to be set up with a corpus of 20,000 crore rupees.
Technical know-how would be made available for setting up of new enterprises to provide more employment and 1000 crore rupees allocation has been provided. Under PMAIS 5300 crore rupees provision has been given. For development of women and children 70351 crore rupees allocation has been made.
SHRIMATI POONAMBEN MAADAM : With the proposed reduction of
S.A.D. from 4 per cent to 2 per cent on some scrap items will help the SME manufacturer to boost their manufacturing activity and will provide more employment. The Government of India had launched the Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Gramin Kaushal Yojana with the allocation of 1500 crore for enhancing the employability of rural youth. I urge upon the Union Government to increase the allocation to Rs. 2500 crore. Pradhan Mantri Surakshan Bima Yojana, Atal
Pension Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana have been introduced. A micro Units Development Refinance Agency (MUDRA) bank, with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore, and credit guarantee corpus of Rs. 3,000 crore has been proposed. This is one of the great steps taken by the Hon'ble Finance
Minister to meet the financial needs of the micro-finance institutions. In keeping with the true spirit of cooperative federalism, the Union Government have devolved a 42 per cent share of the divisible pool of taxes to States as this increase would empower States with more resources. The scheme called 'Nai Manzil' is one of the most important steps towards the improvement of life of the minority youth in the country. The Government has also proposed to set up 5 new Ultra
Mega Power Projects, each of 4000 MWs. I urge upon the Union Government to propose one of the Ultra Mega Power Projects in my Jamnagar Parliamentary Constituency, Gujarat which will of great help to the industries situated in my constituency.
SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN: Government has announced so many times about employment generation. What steps has been taken actually in this budget to reduce unemployment ? MNREGA is an employment generating scheme but government has reduced allocation of funds in this sector. There is no mention about the fulfilment of the vacant posts. In budget, not a single paisa is allotted for SAGY. In so many social welfare schemes in last year budget allocation has been cut off by 20 per cent. This year also no good hope is seen in the budget. Relaxation of 5 per cent tax to the corporate sector and a high drastic reduction in budget allocation under SCSP (SC) and TSP (ST) show that the present government is biased towards anti Dalit Communities.
SHRI M.K. RAGHAVAN: Disinvestment target has been increased from
Rs. 43,425 to Rs. 69,500 which is a clear indication for larger privatisation of the country. This time even ports are expected to be corporatized. The allocation for the Rashtriy Krishi Vikas Yojana has been reduced by half at Rs. 4,500 crore.
There is no attempt in the Budget to implement any of the Shanta Kumar
Committee report for restructuring of the Food Corporation of India. The decision to have senior secondary schools within a radius of 5 kms is welcome. But drastic cut of over 16 per cent in primary education sector will see the hardest hit. The
Budget has extended tax deduction for units employing 50 workers and above. If the intention is to generate employment at rural sectors, this should be further brought down to 20 workers. I would like to suggest that the Income Tax limit should be increased to Rs. 5 lakhs. The government should consider to withdraw
80P (4) Sec for co-operative banks in total so that these co-operatives could become viable and continue to play a pivotal role in the rural sector of Kerala. It is suggested that the Service Tax imposed on lotteries should be completely withdrawn. Nothing has been mentioned for setting up AIIMS like institute in
Kerala. India has not conceived any package to rehabilitate the persons coming back from gulf countries. There has been no major announcement in the power sector except the proposed setting up of Ultra Mega Power Projects. Nor there is any specific policy and tax related announcement for the oil and gas sector despite a slow down on oil prices universally. The negative impact of the budget will be noticed if investment fails to pick up and there would be no alternative.
PROF. CHINTAMANI MALVIYA: Even after 68 years of Independence,
India have poor infrastructure facilities and a massive investment of Rs. 70000 crore has been targeted in the Budget for the improvement of infrastructure. I congratulate the Hon'ble Minister for his proposal to raise the agriculture credit by
Rs. 50,000 crore to Rs. 8.5 lakh crore, to reduce corporate tax from 30 per cent to
25 per cent for stimulating industrial competitiveness at international level, to set up MUDRA bank with corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore for the benefit of small entrepreneurs. These move will improve the employment generation scenario not only in the cities, but also in the villages. The inflation steps has come down in the lasat 9 months and the credit goes to well-planned steps taken by the Government.
To bring future trading under SEBI is a very good step, but I request the government to exclude all the food items from the ambit of future trading.
Actually, the budget aims to remove poverty. No one could ever imagine an insurance of Rs. 2 lakh on the premium of Rs. 1 per month. The government has targeted to get rid of poverty by 2022. The government's commitment to construcat 4 crore housing units will change the face of rural areas. The proposed target of construction of 6 crore toilets is a significant move to make India healthy.
I urge upon the government to make some allocation for coming Kumbha-Mela to be organized in April 2016.
SHRI ALOK SANJAR:I am not surprised if this Budget does not go down well with the opposition and the parties related to UPA. But I would like to emphasize here that the poverty will not be removed, employment opportunities will not be created unless and until more and more new industries are set up for which a conducive and positive environment has to be created. In this budget we are witnessing an economic vision of this government. A lot of positive steps and positive communication been given by this government to maintain balance between development of agriculture as well as economy of the country. This will definitely enhance the faith of the poor people living in rural areas which help them attaining economic independence. The Sulabh Bima Yojana, and many schemes pertaining to small-scale industries as well as Pradhanmantri Jeevan Jyoti
Bima Yojana and Pradhanmantri Vidya Dhan Laxmi Yojana will definitely give a boost to the poor people of this country. It has also been proposed in the budget to provide 2 Crore houses in urban areas and 4 Crore houses in rural areas by the year
2022 under Housing scheme so that every poor people get a house. All these houses will be fully equipped with basic amenities. The interest of small and marginal farmers have adequately been taken care in this budget and accordingly allocated a sum of Rs. 25000 Crores to NABARD to extend agricultural credit for the development of rural infrastructure. Similarly, a sum of Rs. 15000 Crores has also been proposed for long-term agricultural credit, which is indeed a laudable step. It is therefore, I am of the opinion that this present budget is a progressive and development oriented budget, which shows the intention of the government.
SHRI AJAY TAMTA: Every household is feeling secured due to Jan Dhan
Yojana. Every person is provided with insurance cover by social security scheme.
Uttarakhand is a newly created state. Special status and industrial package was provided to the state, but unfortunately in the year 2010 this package was taken away. Due to calamities every year people are losing their houses in Uttarkhand and migrating leaving behind uninhabited border areas. While on the other hand, in the border areas of China, Tibet and Nepal Railway lines, air services are being provided. There is immense potential in Uttarkhand state and 65 percent area of the state is under forest cover. This place is enriched with natural beauty and have many possibilities for tourism. Hence, kindly provide enough funds for tourism in
Uttarkhand.
Many important big and small rivers originate from the state of Uttarakhand and hydro power is generated at large scale. Therefore, it is requested to provide sufficient allocation to the state of Uttarakhand in the budget for the hydro power projects so that the shortages of electricity can be removed from the country and the State. This is a very useful and inclusive budget.
SHRI ANTO ANTONY: It is a budget without a clear vision and a Budget which ignored the common people in the country as well as a Budget introduced for protecting the interests of the rich and the corporate. The answer is that it delays the path of fiscal consolidation and it delays big-bang reforms. Little allocations to the key sectors such as agriculture, education, environment, women welfare, health care etc., have proved that the Budget ignored the middle class, women and common people in the country. In Kerala, cooperative societies are the back-bone of rural economy. Cooperative societies in Kerala have deposit of more than Rs. 1 lakh crore. I would request the Government to grant the exemption enjoyed by the nationalized banks to the cooperative societies also. The problem faced by the rubber growers in the State that there is a large influx of foreign rubber and a subsequent fall in price of domestically produced rubber. I request the Government to increase the import duty on rubber by 25 per cent. I also appeal to the Government to release Rs. 1,000 crore, the amount collected from the farmers as rubber cess, for procuring the excess rubber in the domestic market. I also request the Government to enhance the import duty on tyre from 12 per cent to 20 per cent. I would also request the Government to kindly establish carbon markets in the country. The real India lives in its villages. Therefore, I would request the
Government to kindly enhance allocations for rural development, agriculture, education and social sectors.
SHRI RAVINDRA KUMAR RAY: In this Budget a lot of thought has been given to the welfare of the poorest person of the society. The Budget talks about cleanliness and development all around the country. The river Damodar is the lifeline of Jharkhand. There are a number of power plants on the bank of river
Damodar due to which it has become extremely polluted. I would like to urge upon the hon. Minister that scheme may be prepared making the river Damodar pollution free. There is a need to think about presenting a separate agriculture budget keeping in view the importance of this sector in the country. A big project should be started in Kodarma.
SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK: The budget of 2015-16 is a living example of the misdirected priorities. However, fall propaganda is being carried out by terming it as the budget for the development. I would like to ask as to whose development it is talking about? Are they talking about the development of the common man or of the corporates? Corporates are being given tax exemptions and it is being said that exemptions are going to be done away with. There is a need to clarify as to what are the exemptions which are proposed to be phased out with and what exactly would be the schedule for this purpose. The government has severely cut down on social sector allocations. It is being said that the economy has been growing at the rate of 7.5 per cent but I would like to know why the tax collection of the government is not growing at the commensurate rate? There is a long pending demand of constructing a bridge on river Ganga in my district
Sahibganj. This demand should be fulfilled.
DR. UDIT RAJ: It seems that one opinion has built up in the entire country that the politicians and bureaucrats are nothing short of villains. We should try to remove this image from the mindset of the people. There is large scale revenue leakage in the country. It needs to be plugged so that the fiscal deficit of the country could be reduced. There is a need to ensure the proper utilisation of the funds allocated for the Scheduled Castes Component Plan. I would also request the hon. Minister to reconsider the allocation of DSP and SCP which is on the lower side.
SHRI JUGAL KISHORE: I would like to speak about the budget 2015-16 presented by Hon'ble Shri Arun Jaitley. At first I would like to express my thanks to the Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji. This Budget is very important in terms of social and economic perspective. I would like to draw attention towards some important features of budget like contribution for railway's safety measures, provision of Rs. 1300 crore for Exim bank, insurance facility for
Re. one, provision of rupees 13000 crore for interest assistance scheme to give short term loans to farmers, Rs. 581.90 crore for Swawlamban scheme under new pension system, provision of Rs. 101.79 crore for senior citizen pension insurance scheme, provision for construction of roads under different schemes in rural areas, schemes for construction of new national highways, decision to transfer more share of taxes to States and attention has also been paid towards states and union territories. I express my thanks to Hon'ble Finance Minister for taking care of
Jammu and Kashmir.
SHRI KARADI SANGANNA AMARAPPA: This Budget is a unique and historic as a number of excellent majors have been taken. Last 9 months of the
Government has seen the mammoth success of the Jan Dhan Yojana, coal auctions and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. Estimated GDP for 2015-16 will be between 8 and
8.5 per cent which is almost double from the GDP growth of Last Fiscal. Housing for all by 2022 as announced is a welcome step. Major steps have been taken to cater the problems of Indian farmers. Soil Health Card Scheme has been launched to improve soil fertility. Rs. 5300 crore has been allocated for micro-irrigation watershed projects. Under Atal Pension Yojana, Accident death risk would insure
Rs. 2 lakhs for a premium of Rs. 12 per year. Rs. 1,000 crore additional allocations have been made to the Nirbhaya fund to ensure the safety of our daughters and sisters. Hampi in Karnataka alongwith Elephanta Caves, Leh Palace, Varanasi temple town, Jallianwala bagh, etc. has been announced to make it more tourist friendly. By 2022,100000 MW Renewable Energy is aimed to be produced which again is a High Ambitious Plan of the Government. The proposed IIT in Karnataka needs to be opened in Koppal which is educationally backward and comes under
371-J section of the Constitution of India.
DR. KULAMANI SAMAL: The Union Budget 2015-2016 has neglected the agriculture, rural development, and education. Especially the Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been neglected as a meager amount of Rs.34,699 crore has been allocated. My State, Odisha has been completely neglected. No importance has been given on housing and urban development. Further, the increase in service tax by almost 2 percent on my services will affect the incomes of citizens, especially the middle class. The GDP growth rate forecast of 8 to 8.5 percent is immensely ambitious one.
SHRI NANA PATOLE: More than 9 lakh farmers have been compelled to give up agriculture over the last 10 years. As per the census 2011 everyday 2400 farmers are migrating to urban areas. Not less than 3 lakh farmers have committed suicide during the last 17 years. The average of per hectare yield in India is half than that of America. It needs to be increased. The role of middleman between farmers and the consumers needs to be balanced so as to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce. Recently in Maharashtra the produce of farmers has been damaged due to untimely rains and hail storm. The financial assistance to
Maharashtra in this regard is getting delayed. Prompt action is required to be taken to give relief to farmers. As regards recommendations of Swaminathan Committee report, a decision should be taken at the earliest to implement the same to ensure remunerative prices to farmers for their produce. As per recommendations of the
Kelkar Committee lopsided development has taken place in Maharashtra.
Therefore, an amount of Rs. about 5 lakh crores is required to be spent to complete the irrigation projects and backlog of development works. The Government of
Maharashtra is reeling under the debt of Rs. 3 lakhs and 32 thousand crores. The
Union Government should make available the required funds to bail out the State
Government. The Government has promised to implement 7th Pay Commission for
Central Government employees. The Government should consider to pay equal wages to the agricultural labourers at par with the salary as recommended by the above Commission for the lowest grade employee of the Central Government.
Gosikhurd Irrigation Project over river Vanganga was taken up but even after 30 years it has not been completed. Still the outstanding amount of package worth Rs.
499.60 crores has not been made available. This project needs to be completed at the earliest by making requisite funds available. Under the Gosikhurd Irrigation
Project, out of 16000 families of the project affected families of 85 villages only
8832 families of 34 villages have been rehabilitated at new destinations so far but still 50% of the families are yet to be rehabilitated. I urge upon the Union Government to launch Goundia-Delhi and Goundia-Mumbai flight service by developing Birsi Air Craft Pilot training centre and Runway which runs in loss just two months in a year so as to promote tourism in the area and generate more revenues to the Union Government. Approval needs to be given to open All India
Institute of Medical Sciences at Gadegaon in Bhandara District for providing medical facilities to the people in my constituency as well as the people of Madhya
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh and neighbouring areas and funds should be provided for the same. There are 1154 ponds with an area of 100 heactares in
Bhandara district and 1200 ponds in Gondia district. The waters of these ponds irrigate over 65000 hectares of land. An amount of Rs. 50 crores should be provided every year for these ponds under the Five Year Plan so as to facilitate development of the same. Bhandra and Gondia are also included in 230 districts of the country which have been declared backward tribal districts under the Micro
Finance Scheme. Under this scheme financial assistance needs to be provided to the farmers out of the funds meant for the above for purchase of agricultural inputs, household expenses, school fees of children and marriages. Under the 'Make in
India' programme of the Government a Motor car driven by Compressor Air should be manufactured in India in order to save crores of Rupees being spent on oil fuel and to solve the problem of fuel shortage. There is not a single company in
India which manufactures solar panels from China and Japan. Cheaper power can be generated by manufacturing solar panels. Solar panels are imported domestically which would curtail import bill of the country and India can be self reliant. India is the largest weapon importing country in the world. Our
Government should allow private sector companies to manufacture 60% of our weapon requirement. There are huge reserves of thorium at Kerala Coast.
Therefore, the Government of India should rope in scientists to undertake research in this regard to set up reactors. The Government of India is also required to focus on the unconventional sources of energy like solar energy in view of its demand in the country.
SHRI MUKESH RAJPUT: Special attention has been given to the concession in the education loans and skill development for providing employment to the youth. For the first time in this budget, Rs. 8.5 lakh crore have been provided for the farmers. A separate provision has been made to provide Soil
Test Cards. Insurance schemes like Accident Insurance Scheme, Atal Pension scheme and Pradhan Mantri Jeewan Jyoti Bima Yojana have been introduced to cover the life of the poor people. Tax has been reduced from 30 per cent to 25 per cent to promote industries which will bring more investment in new industries by both domestic/foreign industrialists which will make programmes like 'Make in
India', 'Skill India' and 'Digital India' successful. The State Governments will receive 42 per cent funds instead of 32 per cent helping them to become self- dependent. My parliamentary constituency Farrukhabad is a most backward area even after 68 years of independence. If a Potato Park or Garlic Park and a power project is set up there then my constituency can also make important contribution to the 'Make in India' programme.
SHRI HARI MANJHI: I support the General Budget 2015-16. The farmers labourers and poor have been taken care in this Budget. In the Land Aquisition
Ordinance brought by the Government the welfare of farmers has been paid proper attention. Health services particularly the announcement of opening up of another
AIIMS like hospital in Bihar will provide health facilities to the people of Bihar.
Gaya is a Historical and tourist spot. I demand the Anugrah Narayan Magadh
Medical Hospital should be upgraded which will provide Health facilities to the people of Jharkhand and Bihar. Gaya has been brought under the Smart City. I congratulate Government for the same. Scheme. A dam on the river Falgu river in the city of Gaya should be constructed which will improve the water level and will provide relief to the Gaya and Bodhgaya which are facing acute shortage of drinking water and foreign and domestic tourists will also benefit.
SHRIMATI JYOTI DHURVE: The government has taken many historical initiatives in this budget to take this country on development path. It's objective is take development path in stipulated time-bound manner. Our government is working to achieve growth rate of 8 to 8.5 percent in year 2015-16.
Our budget reflects Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas and it is a document vision for Bharat
Nirman. This budget will not only pave way for India's development but it will also be the beginning of co-operative federalism and strengthening procedure of states. In this year, all the villages will be connected with communication facilities and villages will be provided with health facilities and 20,000 villages in rural areas will be electrified to bring them into the mainstream of development. On the one hand premium amount of Rs.12 under Pradhan Mantri Bima Yojana will provide insurance cover of Rs.2 lakh and on the other hand under houses for all by
2020, 2 crore house in urban and 4 crore in rural areas, will be constructed.
This budget has initiated an ambitious scheme 'Make in India'. To ensure wide success of 'Make in India' and 'Skill India Programme' is being implemented in the country at comprehensive level. To link 'Make in India' and 'Skill India' programmes a provision of Rs.500 crore has been made in Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyay Rural Skill Development Scheme. The government had taken significant steps in the last 9 months to bring back black money. This arrangement has been made for the first time that income tax payer will have to give details of their property in foreign. In view of importance of higher education in the country and role of higher education research and development in the development path of country, an allocation of Rs.69,968 crore for education has been made in the budget. The government is making attempts to implement 'Make in India' policy in defence sector. These steps on one hand will make India self-reliant and generate employment on large scale and on the other hand will bring foreign currency by exporting weapons. This budget has implemented soil health card scheme under which farmers will be provided approximately Rs.8.5 lakh crore loan. Alongwith Rs.530 crore has been allocated to farmers for irrigation. A provision of Rs.10351 crore has been made for women and child development. Rs.1000 crore has been provisioned for Nirbhaya Kosh. Central Apprentice Training Centre will be established for girls in Haryana and Uttarakhand. I hope that his budget will make better prosperous and glorious India.
SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY: This Budget has at least four such schemes, which aim at removing poverty from the country till 2022. It has proposal to build two crore dwelling units in rural areas and four crore dwelling units in urban areas under 'Houses for All' scheme till 2022. The Budget clearly reflects the commitments of our Government to provide round the clock electricity, drinking water, toilet and road connectivity to each and every household. Our Government has fixed target to provide affordable medical facility to each village and city of the country. ' Sarv Siksha Abhiyan' and 'Skilled Development Scheme' have also been launched. 'Skilled India' is the basic formula for the development of the country. The rates of some of the taxes are increased because there are limited ways for raising fund. The Budget also reflects the intention of curbing the black money both in the country and abroad. It has been announced in the Budget to provide similar package to Bihar as Andhra Pradesh and to set up an All India
Institute of Medical Science in the state. The Centre will now provide 42 percent of its income to the state and 5 percent to the panchayats and in this way Bihar will get sufficient surplus fund. It is requested to extend the rest amount to Bihar allocated against the sanctioned schemes by not cutting the given fund under
BRGF by the finance commission during 2012-13. The government should provide fund for all the rail projects related to Bihar announced by the previous government. It should provide contributory fund to all the closed old industries in the state. The government is to develop the tourist circuit from Ayodhya to
Sithamadi-Janakpur Dham through Buxur as Ramayan Circuit. The government should establish a Central Silk Board with Bangalore's modern plant unit at
Bhagalpur. The Government should set up a national level Disaster Management
Institute at Koshi area in Bihar. In addition to that I demand from the hon'ble rail minister to establish a postgraduate institute of medical education and research PGI and ER / medical college sanctioned earlier and it would be an important achievement of the government.
SHRI B. SRIRAMULU: The budget for 2015-16 presented by our eminent
Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley ji, he has done a commendable job by balancing economic growth and social justice. This budget reflects the political philosophy of our hon. Prime Minister and his new approach to the administration and trying to promote our Prime Minister idea of coorporative federalism. In this, all state
Chief Ministers are equal partners in the promoting good governance and development. In this connection, I sincerely congratulate Hon'ble Prime Minister and Hon. Finance Minister for replacing Planning Commission with NITI Aayoga.
Prior to the presentation of the budget, the 14th Finance Commission made an announcement increasing the state share from 32% to random jump of 42% from the desirable pool of tax revenues. It shows that our Government is committed to giving more power to states. I request Hon'ble Prime Minister and Finance
Minister to take the people of different state into confidence to make the successes of co-operative federalism. I feel happy as budget has provided as much as 8.6 lac crore towards agriculture credits. Another important announcement in the budget is establishment of Mudra bank with the cooperative corportate fund of 20 thousand crore, so as to provide easy credit to small businessman, rural businessman and among whom 67% belongs to SC/ST, OBC and Minority Communities. Another important announcement is Naye Manzil providing ten thousand crore for skill development and employment for youth belongs to religious minority. Another welcome feature in this budget is a protection for accident relief insurance. Rs.12 premium per annum and a life insurance schemes Rs. 330 per year. That is about one rupee per day. I heartily support Hon. Finance Minister in his intention to transform pension less India into a fully pensioned India and to establish suitable institutional mechanism so that benefit reach the deserving people. I personally thank hon. Finance Minister for inclusion of Hampi in the world heritage site located in my constituency and also thank him for special development grant to promote the tourism.
SHRI TATHAGATA SATPATHY: The Government has planned many industrial corridors one of which goes from Madras and stops at Vizag. I would like to know why does it not get connected to Kolkata so that we will get the benefit? I would like to urge upon the Government not to throttle the enterprising people within the country who are setting up small businesses because the government have brought such laws that family members cannot even give loans to small start off companies which will affect business within this country and it will affect the small and medium businessmen. You have said that anybody purchasing anything above a lakh of rupees will have to produce the PAN Card. There are many farmers in my constituency who do not posses PAN Cards. So, clandestinely, the Government is bringing agriculture under taxation process.
Taxing the rich is my last point. I would urge the Government to think of ways and means by which the tax net could be broadened. A State like Odisha which is paying so much money to the Railways, to the Central Government and deserve to be getting a better deal.
SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: This Budget paves way for inclusive growth. The decision to cut corporate rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent should be applauded. In this Budget the Government has decided to build up power capacity by constructing five ultra mega power plants each with 5,000 MW capacity. In this Budget research and development has been neglected. Only 4 per cent growth to science and technology is shown in Budget allocation. We are mostly dependent upon foreign import in defence field. If we give thrust to R&D we can control imports and improve exports. Special category status and incentive and tax concessions shouldbe given Andhra Pradesh. Funds and projects as was promised while bifurcation of the undivided AP should be given to the state. Rs.
15692 crore for bridging gap between revenue and expenditur of the state should be provided. Tax incentives should be given to investors in AP on the line of
Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh and enhance financial package for backward
Rayalaseema and north Andhra should be provided. Timely grants should be released to complete Kolavaram nationa project. Rs.20,000 crore should be provided to state for construction of new capital. Grants for setting up of institutions as such IIM, IIT and AIIMs should be provided to the state. Aid financial be provided to the state to develop smart cities and port along the east coast. Allocations should be made for construction of metro rail projects in Vizag and Vijayawada and a separate railway zone should be set up in Vizag. Financial aid to set up industrial clusters across the state particularly in backward district of
Rayalaseema and north Andhra.
SHRI SUNIL KUMAR SINGH: This Budget is pro-poor, pro-middle class, pro-youth, employment oriented and also intends to alter the whole scenario.
This Budget will also give new lease of life to farmers and agriculture. Hon.
Finance Minister, in the Budget of 2015-16 has put a target of 8.5 lakh crore agriculture loan to be disbursed to the farmers. The Budget 2015-16 also focuses on creation of jobs for youths. Mudra Bank has been set up. In Budget, Hon.
Minister of Finance has stated to give 42 per cent share of total revenue collection to the state governments. This Budget also lays the positive roadmap for Indian economy. Hon. Finance Minister has also conceived a project for upgradation and preservation of India's world level cultural heritage sites so as to promote tourism.
THE MINISTER OF FINANCE, MINISTER OF CORPORATE
AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
(SHRI ARUN JAITLEY) replying said: When the first budget for the truncated year was presented by the government the country was facing different kind of economic environment and the world was having a different take on India. During the last 9-10 months the attitude of the world towards India has undergone a big change and therefore, I am of this opinion that it is a historical opportunity for all the political parties, political leaders and the parliamentarians to give a thought as to how we can take the country on the path of rapid development. There is a need for us to rise above the rhetoric of slogans and party politics and think in terms of preparing the roadmap of concrete policies to realise this objective. The financial architecture of this country has undergone a radical change in terms of the cooperative federalism and this is to be seen in the backdrop of presentation of this budget. This is exactly the reason why we have started to give much more importance to the model of cooperative federalism any time during the last thirty years. The states get some money out of the central divisible pool of taxes. The
Fourteenth Finance Commission made a recommendation to increase this allocation by ten per cent. The centre has completely accepted this recommendation which has resulted into the centre becoming poorer by ten per cent. If we have a look at the fiscal architecture then the share of centre is 58 per cent while the share of states is 42 per cent. Some of the money still goes to the states for municipalities, panchayats and disaster relief out of that 58 per cent share left with the Centre. On the whole the entire tax basket of both the states and the
Centre reveals that the total share of states is 62 per cent while remaining 38 per cent is left with the centre. Under the new arrangement the states are going to get
Rs.1,86,000 crore more as compared to the previous year out of the divisible pool.
It is obvious that when the States become richer, I become poorer, but the country as a whole gains. I am a little disappointed that the principle argument is that your revenue has gone down by 10 per cent because you have given more to the States.
Therefore, if I am ten per cent poorer this year, because you are 10 per cent richer in the States, it is obvious that with the increase in the tax revenue, the amount being spent in states would be much more because it will be my money and your money taken together. Therefore, the principle argument which has been raised is this. Is the Centre's allocation less? Let me inform the hon. Members about the two basic errors in that argument. The first basic error is what goes to the States is also going to be spent on poverty alleviation schemes and development.
Therefore, when both of us spend and the country spends more though the Chief
Ministers and less through the Central Government, the country as a whole is going to spend more though my allocations may suffer. For MNREGA I allocate Rs.34,000 crore in the Budget and I am now managing more resources, that is,
Rs.5,000 crore more and so, it will about Rs.39,000 crore. We consciously decided to up the MNREGA expenditure and we should maintain it. It will be spent through the States. The UPA system of accounting was you give a certain amount and spend Rs.1,20,000 crore less. Therefore, there was a big difference between the Budget Estimate and the Revised Estimate. Compare my expenditure in the next year with the Revised Estimates of UPA and may own Revised Estimates. I am giving so much money to the States. Despite giving more money to the States,
I am going to be spending much more in every category than what has been spent in the past. The major part of this debate is that I am pro-rich. This country will not get rid of poverty by just redistributing the existing sources. The previous
Government concentrated on the distribution of the existing resources. The steps which were required to generate higher growth rates took a back seat. We have created a social security mechanism. The effort is to convert a pensionless society into a pensioned society. So, this is the concept of social security that we tried to introduce. This year, I hope to grow by 7.4 per cent next year, it should be eight per cent plus. Our Current Account Deficit which till two years ago was 4.7 per cent, has come down to below two now, it is 1.3 per cent. Hopefully, it would be less than one per cent. Agriculture growth rate is only one per cent, industrial growth rate comes to about two or three per cent. What is our strategy? We need investment in this country. We need domestic investment as well as international investment. Investment will be the beginning of any economic activity. You need to increase manufacturing. Investment will lead to jobs. Investment must also lead to profitability. It is only then that you will get taxes. It is that money which will create jobs. It is that money which will help us to create infrastructure. If you create a circumstance where investment does not take place in India then you will become a nation of traders and not a manufacturing nation. You prevent infrastructure and you perpetuate India as a poor nation. That is not a course which we are going to follow. That is not a road map on which we are going to ply. We must have more money from within and outside coming into this country.
We must ease the doing of business. Were we not hurting the economy in the process? Our interest rates have to moderate. Power supply has to increase. Our infrastructure has to improve. If there will be no land for infrastructure, then the country and the economy is going to suffer. The first proposal of 49 per cent FDI in insurance sector came from Shri Vajpayee's Government. We are competing for investment, not only foreign investment but India investment also. Indians are preferring to set up their industries abroad because of higher corporate tax. I have seen every country's corporate tax. The Government intend to bring down the corporate tax to 25 per cent. I have borrowed this idea from the UPA Government.
When investment will come in, the Government will have more money in its pocket to fund schemes like MGNREGA and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana. The issue of black money was raised here in this House. I assure the House that we are bringing strict law against black money and this will be brought in this very session. The Public Private Partnership model is not succeeding. I have to balance growth and fiscal consolidation. Coming to gold monetisation, gold is an ideal asset. There is a need to invest in Gold Bonds rather than buying gold. With regard to domestic petroleum prices, we passed the burden to the consumers eleven times. In addition, the benefit because of reduction in crude oil prices will go to railways and highways. I have allowed companies to buy tax free bonds. I am creating an Investment Fund with the Government and its PSUs putting in Rs.20,000 crore, international funding coming, which will permanently fund infrastructure. Therefore, infrastructure is the sector on which we need to concentrate. We have Rs.25,000 crore for rural infrastructure, Rs.15,000 crore for long-term credit, Rs.15,000 crore for short-term cooperative credit, Rs.15,000 crore for funding Rural Regional Banks (RRBs), Rs.8.5 lakh crore for agriculture credit. Therefore, it is in the interest of each State to put in more money from this enriched monies that the States have, into irrigation. People have to come out of agriculture and get into manufacturing. We want investment to come in domestic and international projects. The global situation today suits us. The IMF says that
India this year is in the pace of growth rate may overtake China. That is a historic opportunity. I used a phrase 'India is not merely co-operate federalism, it is also competitive federalism'. Even in the Land Acquisition Act, we have left the discretion to the states. If the backward states adopt a progressive policy, they will get out of backwardness. With these words, I commend the Budget to the Hon.
House.
The discussion was concluded.
All the Demands for Grants on Accounts (General) were voted in full.
All the Supplementary Demands for Grants (General) were voted in full.
APPROPRIATION (VOTE ON ACCOUNT) BILL, 2015
The Bill was passed.
APPROPRIATION BILL, 2015
The Bill was passed.
ANDHRA PRADESH REORGANIZATION (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2015
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME
AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU) moved that the Bill further to amend the
Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, be taken into consideration.
SHRIMATI SONIA GANDHI initiating said: The Indian National
Congress was equally and strongly committed to protecting and promoting the interest of the successor State of Andhra Pradesh and to ensuring its rapid development. In addition, the then Prime Minister of India had committed on the floor of the Rajya Sabha that the successor State of Andhra Pradesh will be granted special category status. But it is disappointing to find that the NDA Government has not shown any interest in fulfilling these commitments. The State of Andhra
Pradesh is presently facing a huge revenue deficit, which is adversely impacting it and its people. To make matters worse, the recommendations of the 14th Finance
Commission have not done full justice to the needs of the State. The Polavaram
Project must be implemented with urgency and with complete regard to environmental sustainability and with full sensitivity to the re-settlement and rehabilitation of all the affected families. Adequate resources have to keep flowing to the Andhra Pradesh state for its Capital. Sadly, nothing substantial has yet been provided. In addition to the above, many other commitments such as sanction of the Railway zone to Andhra Pradesh, the Vizag-Chennai Industrial Corridor, a steel factory in YSR Kadapa District, a Petro-chemical refinery, a Petroleum
University and the development of the Dugarajapatnam Port, all of these still remain only on paper. That is why, through you, I urge the Prime Minister to give his personal and immediate attention to this most important and urgent matter.
THE MINISTER OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT, MINISTER OF
HOUSING AND URBAN POVERTY ALLEVIATION AND MINISTER OF
PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI M. VENKAIAH NAIDU): As Andhra
Pradesh, combined State, is divided into two, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, there was an error committed while drafting the Bill. They said that the total strength of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly will be 175 and one-third of it will be the strength of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council. We are now trying to correct that one-third of 175 is not 50 but it will be 58. Government of India has inherited a situation and we are trying to address all those concerned and all those issues one after another. In 2004, the issue of division of the State was raised by
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party, Telugu
Desam Party, Communist Parties and by the Congress Party also. But unfortunately, a lot of people had to sacrifice their lives. When this was done and a new State is created, people of Telangana are happy. The congress Party and the
TRS were together in the Government. And took almost nine and a half years to fulfill that promise. Certain things which the previous government made in this
Bill are being attended to. Foundation has been laid for one Indian Institute of management at Visakhapatnam. One All India Institute of medical Sciences is sanctioned at Guntur or Vijayawada. The Rajya Sabha Members of parliament who were elected from combined Andhra Pradesh and who belonged to Andhra
Pradesh, have been allocated Telangana. People who were born in Telangana have been allocated Andhra Pradesh. It is a very peculiar situation. This also needs to be addressed. Special status is not part of the Bill. Why? Only the people who brought the Bill can explain. The second issue is on Polavalam. In the first
Cabinet meeting two important things were adopted. The first was about constituting a Special Investigation Team for bringing back black money; the second was issuing an Ordinance for Polavaram. If we were not sincere, we would not have done it. There is a certain amount of concern with regard to the on-going process of fulfilling these commitments made. Every Minister is addressing the issues concerning them. For Polavaram project, last year Rs.250 crore was given in the Budget. It could not be spent because the Act says that you have to create an
Authority. The concerned Minister and I discussed it with Andhra Pradesh and things have been worked out to take that also forward. It requires certain amount of time and patience, understanding and cooperation from all sides to solve the issue. With regard to railway zone it is at an advanced stage. Similar is the case of
Kazipet Coach Factory and Power Project. Concerned Minister has taken a historic initiative of trying to revive the Ramagundam Fertilizer Factory. With regard to protecting the interest of the tribals and also with regard to their rehabilitation the Government of India is giving topmost priority.
SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA: If somebody would have taken care on the date of formulation of the original Bill 2014, possibly this amendment of today would not have been required at all. The successor State of Andhra Pradesh has 175 seats and one-third of it is 58 and not 50. Now this Bill proposes to amend section 22 and 23 of the 2014 Act to enhance the number from 50 to 58. Let me come to the major and core issue on which, in my opinion, the Government should have focused. Discussion has taken place on the floor of the House on Polavaram project. State of Odisha has strongly objected to certain things for Polavaram as it is going to submerge large tracts of land in Odisha and displace more than three lakh tribals from our villages. It is our strong demand from the Union Government that let the Government does not take any decision which will hamper the interest of the tribals of Odisha. Many of us have given several suggestions to hon.
Minister of Water Resources that if he tweaks the design a little bit, it will serve all the eventual purposes. Instead of displacing 306 villages, it is only going to affect
72 villages. It will have much better water supply to the people concerned, better irrigation and more power generation.
PROF. SAUGATA ROY: I stand here to speak on the Andhra Pradesh
Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill. At that time BJP was for having smaller states and TDP was opposed to the division of the State of Andhra Pradesh. Our party was opposed to the division of the State of Andhra Pradesh. We felt that the division of the State of Andhra Pradesh would open a Pandora's Box. Whatever was promised at the time of division, whichever Government may have been in power, those promises should be fulfilled. That relates to separate package for
Andhra Pradesh. They have got something out of the revenue deficit grant but that is not enough. The Centre should give money for the new Capital. Let them build a new capital with Central help. I thought that after the State got divided, it would act according to democratic principles and abolish the Council just as we did it in
West Bengal. We cannot object to it. *SHRI THOTA NARASIMHAM: This amendment Bill is regarding
Legislative Council and I fully support it. This Bill provides for increasing strength of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council from 50 to 58. We all know how re- organisation of Andhra Pradesh was done? The whole country is aware of situations prevailing in Andhra Pradesh, post bifurcation. People of Telangana demanded for a separate Telangana state and there is nothing wrong with the demand. Accordingly, the then Congress led UPA Government took a decision to bifurcate united Andhra Pradesh, taking into consideration the popular sentiments and demands of leaders from Telangana region. At the same time, sentiments and problems of the people Seemandhra were ignored by the then Government. The then Government turned a blind eye to the feelings, problems and emotions of the people of Andhra. As a result, we are suffering today. Andhra Pradesh used to be one of the progressive states in the country. But today as a result of bifurcation, we all know the situation prevailing in one part of that division. Our party leaders are taking up issues of our state with the Central Government and seeking support and help from it. Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in an unscientific manner. As per
Finance Commission's report, even after 5 years, the state will be in deficit. This is the ill-effect of unscientific bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. There are many problems in our state. Earlier, UPA Government ignored Polavaram project. Under the leadership of our Prime Minister in the first cabinet meeting an ordinance
* Original in Telugu pertaining to Polavaram project was issued and it is an achievement of NDA
Government. We are hopeful that funds for Polavaram project will be released soon. Apart from Polavaram, there are many issues and problems in Andhra
Pradesh and we expect Government to address all these issues and save Andhra
Pradesh from crisis. We are asking for financial support from Central Government.
A separate Railway Zone for Andhra Pradesh was demanded. We are hopeful that
Railway Minister will soon announce a separate Railway Zone for Andhra Pradesh at Vishakhapattanam. Similarly, there must be issues and problems in Telangana. I request the Central Government to address issues pertaining to Andhra Pradesh and
Telangana as well.
*SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR: Today this bill was introduced to amend
Andhra Pradesh Re-Organization Act. The Act was passed by both Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha in 2014 and as a result of that legislation, Telangana state was formed. At this juncture, 7 mandals of Telangana which were ibhabited by tribals, were transferred to Andhra Pradesh. Within one year of passing Andhra Pradesh
Re-Organization Bill. The Government has come up with two amendments. What we are asking is that there are many issues and you bring a comprehensive bill to address all these issues. Some members were referring to scientific methodology, I want to know on which basis 7 mandals of Telangana were transferred to Andhra
* Original in Telugu Pradesh. After long deliberations it was felt that separate Telangana state is the only solution to this problem.
DR. A. SAMPATH: The promises made to the newly carved out States should be fulfilled. It has been suggested by many hon. Members that the parent
Bills should go to the concerned Standing Committees and the Standing
Committees should satisfy themselves the evidence and holding discussions with various stakeholders before these Bills are presented in the House. Many hon.
Members have put-forth certain suggestions regarding finance, legislation, judiciary, water sharing, administration, etc. I pay tributes to the Freedom Fighters of the present day Telangana and the present day Andhra Pradesh. Once the State of Andhra was a revenue surplus state, now, the State of Andhra Pradesh and State of Telangana have become revenue deficit States. We should have a comprehensive strategy in regard to the development of all the States. The cooperative federalism should come from the heart. The issue of Polavasam project is also very important for both the States.
*SHRI GUTHA SUKENDER REDDY: Even after 9 months of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh important decisions could not be arrived at regarding some provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organization Bill. High
Court is yet to be divided. I would like to request that as per Andhra Pradesh Re-
Organization Bill, Telangana should be given its share of power. For sharing and
* Original in Telugu using waters of Krishan and Godavari, Union Government constituted Krishna
Water Board. I request the Government to provide terms of reference and delegate powers to the Krishna Water Board to exercise its authority. We don't oppose
Polavaram project. But we are concerned about 7 mandals that were transferred to
Andhra Pradesh. We have our sincere concerns for tribals who are living in these mandals. They should be offered all basic facilities. The government should think about the interests and safety of those tribals who may get submerged due to
Polavaram project. As per Andhra Pradesh Re-Oragnization Bill, Government organizations and institutions should be shared and disputes.
DR. KAMBHAMPATI HARIBABU: I am very happy to note that the
Government, through this Bill creased the number of seats in Andhra Pradesh
Legislative Council from 50 to 58. We fully support the relief and rehabilitation package for the tribal people who are going to lose their lands. Preparation of
Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 was a hasty decision of the Congress.
So many assurances were given for the people of Andhra Pradesh, whether it is revenue deficit, lack of educational institutions or the issues related to river water, industrial development, backward area development, Railway Zone, Pollavaram
Project, industrial incentives etc. I am very happy that the NDA Government has initiated action on every such assurance. Lastly, I would request the hon. Home
Minister to consider increasing the number of seats in the Assemblies of Andhra
Pradesh and Telangana. SHRI P. V. MIDHUN REDDY: The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act,
2014 states that the Central Government shall take appropriate fiscal measures including offer of tax incentives to the successive State to promote industries and economic growth in both States. Though the Finance Minister had announced some incentives for Andhra Pradesh, yet it is not enough. We would request the
Central Government to accord special status to the State of Andhra Pradesh. The residual State of Andhra Pradesh is having huge revenue deficit from beginning.
The commitment made should be fulfilled in a time bound manner. Promises made include providing funds for the Capital Special Developement packages to the backward districts of Rayalaseema and North coastal Andhra and creation of a new Railway zone. The steel factory was promised in YSR Kadapa District.
Polavaram is a national project and it costs more than Rs. 10,000 crore to build it.
So far, only Rs. 100 crore has been allotted in the Budget. If this is the state of affairs, it will take another fifty years for the completion of Polavaram Project.
DR. K KAMARAJ: The erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh was reorganized into the two States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In spite of the division of the State and the differences they had between them before the reorganization, they have now come to a good understanding, are now willing to work together, and have consented to share the river waters between them. I appreciate and congratulate the new State of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam fully support this Bill. SHRI MUTHAMSETTI SRINIVASA RAO : Formation of Telangana
State may be a genuine request but the time and manner in which the UPA
Government divided the State was very unscientific. The division was done by the
UPA, by the Congress party, just for political gains. The Congress is asking, what has the alliance of NDA-TDP done? I will say that Andhra Pradesh is supplying
24x7 power. Polavaram project is the lifeline for the people of Andhra Pradesh. I request all the political parties not to play games with the people of Andhra
Pradesh and seek justice for the people of Andhra Pradesh.
DR. BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD: Today, the Bill has come up because the UPA Government in 2014 has not treated the Bill the way it should have been treated. In this Bill, there are a lot of deficiencies because of which the brother on either side of the State have some difference. There is some lack of clarity in the
Bill, like in the 9th and 10th Schedule over power sharing and water sharing. What we expect is a comprehensive Bill. Both the States should be consulted and comprehensive Bill should be brought. So that all the defects in the A.P.
Reorganisation Bill would be settled once for all. There is a provision in the Bill to increase the number of Assembly seats in Telangana from 119 to 153 and also in
Andhra Pradesh from 175 to 225. The Election Commission had sent a letter to the
Home Ministry for clarification. The reply they got is surprising. They have said that the A.P. Reorganisation Bill is futuristic. If that is the case, why was it taken up? My request is to the Government to bring out a comprehensive Bill without any defect.
*SHRI N. KRISTAPPA: This amendment is meant to increase number of
MLCs in the Legislative Council. This amendment could have been avoided, had we discussed each and every point minutely. As a result of bifurcation, we have new problems in both states. We do not have a capital city. We don't have tables or chairs to sit. Ministers don't have offices to sit. Secretaries don't have offices to function. There was an assurance that for ten years there will be no problems.
But now, to enter Telangana, we are being asked to pay entry tax. We don't understand where we are living. People of Andhra Pradesh are waiting for special status so that their problems and issues can be resolved. The state is battling with disasters like drought and the Hudhud cyclone, and by according special status, it will definitely help us tide over such calamities. We are hopeful that the NDA
Government would do justice to our state.
*SHRI P. SRINIVASA REDDY: After 60 years of struggle and sacrifices by many leaders and intellectuals, Telangana state was formed by Central
Government in 2014. As per provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organization
Bill like setting up of Tribal university, Horticulture university, 4000 MW power plants and Steel Plant in my district Khammam. None of them could be initiated till now. While bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, there is a need for clarity in border
* Original in Telugu issues and water issues. Central Government should intervene and resolve these issues. Around 1,90,304 tribals are living in those 7 mandals consisting of 324 revenue villages. 2 mandals are partially in Andhra Pradesh and they are facing serious problems. It is the responsibility of the Central Government to protect the interests of tribals in these 7 mandals.
PROF. A.S.R. NAIK: We are not against the increase of the MLCs from
52 to 58 but there are some issues in Telangana , particularly the adivasi issue because in my parliamentary constituency out of 7 MLA segments, 6 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. You can think of the predominant tribal population in my constituency. The Bhadrachalam Assembly constituency, falls in my constituency. We are not against the construction of Polavaram project. But how can you displace the Adivasi there ? Around 1,90,000 adivasis are there. The adivasis who are located in those seven Mandals which have been shifted to
Andhra Pradesh. They had voted for me but I have been shifted to Telangana.
Now who will represent their issues? Who will take care of them? There are 2000 employees belonging to Telangana. Their properties and families are located in
Telangana. Now they are working in these seven Mandals. Chandrababu
Government have appointed some Headmasters in these seven Mandals. They are paying salaries to these Telangana people. They are issuing them warnings saying that if they do not accept the salaries given by them, they will dismiss the latter.
We are facing a very pathetic condition there. Properties, buildings and infrastructure worth crores of rupees are located in four Gram Panchayats which were shifted to Andhra Pradesh. Panchayats were merged nowhere. Now people of these four Mandals have to come to Bhadrachalam for their everyday needs.They have to cross these four gram Panchayats. Again the inter-state problem will be there and tax problem will be there.
SHRI KIREN RIJIJU replying said: This is a very limited amendment
Bill. I have already stated in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill itself that when Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act was enacted, 17 seats were allocated to the local authorities and 17 seats were allocated to MLA constituencies for the election of the MLCs. Now, according to the Amendment Bill which I have brought forward, the effect will be that these 17 seats to the local authorities will be increased to 20. The same will be applicable to the MLA constituencies. During the course of discussion the hon. Members have mentioned so many issues. I would like to inform them that, since, we are already in the process for bringing a more comprehensive Bill in the future, I would not like to dwell at length on those issues. We are working out on the issue of raising the seats from 11 to 14 for
Telangana so that both the States are benefited equally. Further, we will abide by all the commitment that the Government has made including the ones made by the previous Government. At the same time, I would like to say that there are certain projects which are long-term projects and need consultation with various relevant
Ministries. The Terms of Reference for the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal has already been extended for two years with effect from 1st August, 2014. With these words, I commend the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization (Amendment) Bill,
2015 to this august House for passing.
This Bill was passed.
CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED CASTES) ORDERS (AMENDMENT)
BILL, 2015
(As passed by Rajya Sabha)
THE MINISTER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI THAAWAR CHAND GEHLOT) moved that the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of Scheduled
Castes in the States of Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha and the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Scheduled Castes Order, 1962 as passed by Rajya Sabha, be taken into consideration.
SHRI K. H. MUNIYAPPA initiating said: I wish to draw the attention of the hon. Minister in respect of the Scheduled Caste List pertaining to Karnataka.
Madar caste is at Serial No. 22 and Madiga Caste is at Serial No. 61. My only request to the hon. Minister is to regroup it. Further, I would like to say that atrocities on Dalits are increasing till today. Reservation on promotion is one of the most important areas. It is a long pending demand. I urge upon the Government to ensure justice to SCs/STs by providing reservation on promotion.
DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR: There are a number of castes in our country which have been included in the list of Scheduled Caste in certain states while in other states they have been categorise as OBC or General category. In three districts of Madhya Pradesh namely - Bhopal, Sehor and Raisen, the Dhobi community has been categorised as Scheduled Caste whereas in other districts of the same state they have been kept out of the Scheduled Caste list. In the same way, the Prajapati community has been given the status of Scheduled Caste in
Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Panna, Datiya, Satna, Riwa, Sidhi and Sehdol districts of
Madhya Pradesh whereas in the remaining districts of this state they have kept out of the Scheudled Caste list. The Khatik community is treated as Scheduled caste community in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and
Maharashtra, while in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Gujarat they are not treated as Scheduled Caste. The Mallah caste is included in the list of Scheduled Caste in Delhi whereas in some districts of Uttar Pradesh, they are given the status of OBC. The Bhuian community is given all the benefits of Scheduled Caste in Odisha whereas the same community is denied these benefits in Jharkhand. I request the Government to bring a comprehensive Bill to eradicate this anomaly. Further, the funds allocated under the sub-Plan are not sent on the areas inhabited by the Scheduled Caste community. I have the firm belief that the Government will take steps to in this direct.
SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM: In Tamil Nadu, there is a community known as Badaga, living in and around Nilgiris. This community has all the traits that can be attributed to the Scheduled Tribes and they are leading a life characterised by the tribals. Hence, I request that this Badaga community may be included in the ST list. Our leader, Dr. Puratchi Thalaivi Amma had repeatedly written to the Central Government to include Dalit Christians in that List. There is another demand that the Erular community should be included in this category. Pallan, Adi
Driavida and Arunthathiyar - are included in the List of SCs in Tamil Nadu but these communities do not find their place in the list of the National Capital
Territory of Delhi. There are more than five lakh Tamilians belonging to SCs and
STs who have migrated from Tamil Nadu and are living in Delhi for several decades. I would request the Government to take efforts to compile one All India
List which will be applicable throughout India so that the SC/ST people are treated on par all over India.
SHRI SUNIL KUMAR MONDAL : Backward Castes are scattered in various states ; not only in Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha but also in Andaman,
West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar etc. In Bengal, there are communities like
Vaishnavas and Bauls who are extremely backward. People talk about development, education, economic and social infrastructure transformation but nothing actually happens. Therefore, I wish to say that if real development of the backward communities is to be made a reality, then the Government has to adopt a holistic approach by enhancing the budgetary allocation for this sector. They have to run from pillar to post to get a caste certificate. They do not get two square meals a day: they do not have roofs over their heads; so how do you expect that they would be able to produce documents in order to get SC/ST certificate? If we really want to help these backward castes, the first thing we must introduce them to is, education. Therefore, more central aid is required. If we get adequate fiscal assistance, we shall be able to implement the schemes successfully. Now, we are dividing people along caste lines. We are identified as Mochi, Hari, Dom,
Kayastha, Brahmin but not as Indians. This is highly shameful. Therefore, we must realize our faults and rise above such narrow mindedness in our endeavour to build a new, developed progressive nation.
DR. KULMANI SAMAL : In respect of my state Odisha, the communities namely Dhoba, Dhobi, Dom, Dombo, Duria Dom, Katia, Kela, Nalua Kela,
Khadala and Turi have been proposed to be included in the list of Scheduled
Castes. These castes of the state live a miserable life. Life itself becomes a burden to them. By adding them in the list of Scheduled Castes, it is expected to empower them or to bring them to the mainstream society where they can compete with others and could be a part in building of the nation. I would also like to state that the percentage of reservation should be increased alongwith a provision of adequate allocation of funds in order to remove the caste discrimination in society.
DR. BOORA NARSAIAH GOUD: You know 36 per cent of the SCs are still living below poverty line. Majority of people in the case of SCs are least educated or economically empowered. There is a lot of demand from the various states for inclusion of communities into the list of SCs. From the state of Odisha, there is a Dhobi community. They are present across India. Dhobi community is there in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh but the Dhobi community is included only in some particular states. In my state, there are many Dhobi communities representing for last many years to be included. My request would be to do a comprehensive study across the nation and see that the castes which still qualify to be included in the scheduled Castes are included. Before bringing in a comprehensive Bill, a comprehensive study has to be undertaken. I can tell this
House proudly that after the formation of the Telangana state, we have allocated
Rs.50,000 crore for implementation of the SC sub-plan. Without economic power, simple or meager education is not going to help them. There are many people who have studied Degrees and B.Tech but they are still doing the work of MGNREGA because they do not have economic backup. We have to look for the economic upliftment of all the downtrodden sections, that is, giving reservation in private institutions and also taking a special initiative for their economic support.
Definitely, we can abolish the differences among the communities of the SCs and we can integrate them into a single community. I request that ultimately, we should lead all our policies to integrate the entire SC community.
SHRI P.K. BIJU: I fully support this Bill because inclusion of new socially and educationally backward communities in the Constitution List will definitely help the poorest of the poor sections of this country. After 68 years of our
Independence, their condition is as usual. Today we passed our Budget but the mandatory allotment has also been cut in a big way. Similarly, the ST Plan fund has also been cut by 5 per cent. Without economic and educational upliftment of these people, how can we uplift our society? On the one hand the Government‟s allotment for educational institutions is going down, on the other, private institutions are mushrooming. There is no reservation for these people in private institutions. I would urge upon the Government that they should not put a list of castes in the Constitution, but they have to provide better consideration for the SCs and STs in our country.
SHRI DALPAT SINGH PARASTE: The people of schedule caste community of society must be given equal opportunity by eradicating their backwardness and inequality, whatever parts of the country they are living in. They should be given opportunity to progress. There should be an equal status for them in study, socio-economic and educational qualifications.
SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA: I welcome the Constitution (scheduled castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2015. This Bill proposes new communities to be added in the State of Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha. Untouchability is the main criterion for inclusion of castes. At present, 1,208 castes are included in the list of
SCs. My request is to consider the backwardness among the scheduled castes instead of untouchability as the main criterion for inclusion in the list. The percentage of reservation given to SCs & STs in the Government of India is only
22.5 per cent. My humble request, to the Union Government is to enhance the percentage of reservation. In the state of Karnataka, presently, the percentage of reservation for the scheduled castes is 15 per cent and for the scheduled tribes is 3 per cent, which comes to a total of 18 per cent. My request, to the hon.Union
Minister is to enhance the SCP and TSP according to the Planning Commission guidelines based on population. There are about 58,591 vacancies in the Central
Government institutions, and more than 50,000 backlog vacancies are there in the
Central Universities. So, my request is to take action for filling up of these backlogs by a special drive. My humble request to the hon. Minister is to introduce other three related Bills in the next Parliament Session itself.
SHRIMATI PRATIMA MONDAL: The Government has provided various plans and programmes offering the scheduled castes with opportunities to develop, providing educational facilities, health service and building communication network etc. It is observed that Government programmes especially those pertaining to the welfare of the scheduled castes are never taken seriously. There is no effective monitoring system to point out the failure of the plan object. There are diversion of resources and lack of utilities of the scheme.
Therefore, the condition of this community still remains very miserable. Therefore, remedial measures and courses of correction should have to be implemented diligently. Most of the scheduled castes communities are still striving to fulfil their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter as well as basic education. Besides this, they deserve better opportunities to live in with dignity and self-respect.
SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA: Scheduled caste and the Scheduled tribes society wants to become job provider instead of being jobseeker. This community requires a bit of assistance. There is a need to set up new centers of excellence for the people of our society as of now. Today, the people of our community want to become collaborators in the progress of India through skill development. There was a time when the dalits used to get priority in the Indian
Army. At present, it is the demand of our community that it should be given an opportunity to get recruited in the Indian army to provide it opportunity to sacrifice itself on the country. There is a need to bring amendment in the Atrocities Act at present. Provision of reservation in promotion is required to remove backlog.
SHRIMATI KAMLA PAATLE: I come from state of Chhatisgarh. It has been requested that many castes may be included in scheduled castes. I again ask to include them and also the issue of reservation in Chhatisgarh was of 16 percent reservation for scheduled castes here. In last tenure, a survey was conducted on the basis of population and four percent reservation for the scheduled castes was cut. I request you to restore the above percentage.
SHRI BHAGWANTH KHUBA: I stand to support this Bill. You have mentioned at serial number 23 that Bhovi, Odd, Odde, Vaddar, Wadar, Wodar,
Bovi, Kalluwaddar and Mannuwaddar have same work and lifestyle. The words
Kuruba and Gonda are synonyms in Beedar, Gulbarga and Yaadgir in Karnataka.
There are about 36 such words which should be included in ST.
SHRI JAI PRAKASH NARAYAN YADAV: The people belonging to
Laiya, Khair, Khirwar, Pujhar castes in Bhagalpur, Jamui, Munger, Lakhisarai and particularly in Banka are deprived of development and their population is decreasing. Development of these castes should also ensured by them in the category of scheduled castes and that way they should also be provided dignity.
SHRI THAAWAR CHAND GEHLOT replying said: Many hon. members have expressed their views on this Bill. I can assure the Members that we are conscious to these problems and we are working on their solutions. The issue of inclusion of Madiga and some other castes of Karnataka in it has been raised . If a proposal comes to us in this regard, we will certainly act on it. The matter of reservation in promotions comes under DOPT and our ministry is in constant touch with them. There were proposals from Madhya Pradesh
Government regarding Rajab, Sakhwar, Jangla and Kumhar castes, but RGI has expressed its disagreement to these proposals. We have conveyed to the State Government about the disagreement of the RGI and sought their opinion. In case they forward any opinion in this regard, we will take further action.
If a caste is included in the list of Scheduled Castes in a State and the other
State does not include the same in its list, that is not considered valid in that State.
It is for this reason that there is difficulty in obtaining Scheduled Caste certificate in Delhi. However, the Supreme Court in its verdict has stated that in case of
Union Territory, the governments can make a provision if they want to do so. If
Delhi Government sends any proposal to us, we shall try to consider it and make it successful. There is no proposal under consideration for any of the castes mentioned from Bihar State.
There is no cut in the budget of our ministry. We have prepared several schemes for the safeguard of the welfare of scheduled castes. Efforts are on to provide more scholarships to the students. There are facilities for pursuing PhD under Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship Scheme. Loan facility at 4 per cent annual interest rate is also available for pursuing study abroad. We have framed a scheme for providing loan to the entrepreneurs from Venture Capital Fund of Rs. 200 crores and we are at the stage of implementing it. Green Business Scheme has also been implemented.
The Bill was passed.
ANOOP MISHRA Secretary General
© 2015 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NOTE: It is the verbatim Debates of the Lok Sabha and not the Synopsis that should be considered authoritative.
English and Hindi versions of Synopsis of Debates are also available at http://loksabha.nic.in.