______SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE ______(Proceedings other than Questions and Answers) ______Monday, July 08, 2019 / Ashadha 17, 1941 (Saka) ______OBITUARY REFERENCE MR. CHAIRMAN: Hon. Members, I refer with profound sorrow to the passing away of Shri Sudarshan Agarwal, former Secretary-General of Rajya-Sabha, on the 3rd of July, 2019, at the age of 88 years. Born In June, 1931, at Ludhiana in Punjab, Shri Agarwal was educated at the Punjab University. Shri Agarwal joined the Judicial Service of Punjab in 1956 and served in various capacities as Civil Judge, First Class Magistrate, Settlement Commissioner in the Department of Rehabilitation and Presiding Officer of the Labour Court, before being promoted as the District and Sessions Judge in 1971. Shri Sudarshan Agarwal joined the Rajya Sabha Secretariat in November, 1971 as Deputy Secretary and was appointed as the Secretary-General of the Rajya Sabha in May, 1981. He served in that capacity till June, 1993. Shri Agarwal's twelve years tenure as the Secretary-General of Rajya Sabha, speaks volumes of his expertise in Parliamentary procedure and matters, as well as the dedication and efficiency with which he discharged his duties. He had the distinction of serving four Chairmen of the Rajya Sabha. ______This Synopsis is not an authoritative record of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha. 340

Shri Agarwal was actively associated with various social, educational and cultural organisations. He also served as the President of the Cancer Foundation and as the Chairman of Rotary Foundation, . Shri Agarwal also served as a Member of the National Human Rights Commission, from October, 1998 to June, 2001 and as the of , from January, 2003 to October, 2007 and as the Governor of , from October, 2007 to July, 2008. In the passing away of Shri Sudarshan Agarwal, the country has lost a noted constitutional expert, an able officer and a noted social worker. We deeply mourn the passing away of Shri Sudarshan Agarwal. (One Minute’s silence was observed as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed.) ______

MATTERS RAISED WITH THE PERMISSION OF THE CHAIR 1. Non-Availability of ATMs in Valparai Estate in Coimbatore, SHRI T.K.S. ELANGOVAN: Valparai is an estate area where about 50,000 employees are working. They are paid a maximum of Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 8,000 as wages per month. The estate owners are crediting wages in their respective accounts. If these employees want to withdraw money, they have to go to ATM and there are only three ATMs available there. They can not go to withdraw money, because they lose a day’s wages if they go there. So, they are facing a great difficulty. Even the tourists visiting ATMs also have to wait in long queues. So, the Government should take steps to increase the number of ATMs and ensure that there should be a

341 minimum amount to deposit in account beyond which it should be given in cash to workers. (Several hon’ble Members associated.)

2. Impediments in Ease of Doing Business

SHRI K.J. ALPHONS: The ease of doing business in this country has improved dramatically over the past five years. Sometimes it becomes doubtful whether all the States are coping up with this process of ease of doing business. An NRI who lived all his life in Nigeria, came back to Kerala to set up basic infrastructure. After getting permission from the municipality, he spent eighteen crore rupees to build a beautiful auditorium. After that he visited the municipality office nineteen times to get the completion certificate. But, when he was denied the completion certificate he committed suicide. This is a State-induced suicide. These kinds of things should not happen in future. The Government should issue an advisory to all the States to keep up with the spirit of ease of doing business.

3. Non-Issuance of SC Certificate to Dhangar Community in Uttar Pradesh

SHRI RAM SHAKAL: The people belonging to Dhangar caste living in Sonbhadra in Uttar Pradesh, whose main occupation is agriculture and labour, were getting Scheduled caste certificates. But, they are not given this scheduled caste certificate for past few years. Due to this reason, these people are not able to take benefits of the schemes run by the Government. They are not able to participate in the elections also. I, therefore, request the Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment to help them in getting scheduled caste certificates.

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4. Demanding for More Trains from Jainagar, Bihar

SHRI RAM NATH THAKUR: There are just a few trains between Jai Nagar and Raxaul in North Bihar, so the number of trains should be increased there. Large number of people from North Bihar visit coaching centres based in Jaipur-Kota. But very few trains are operating for going to these places. People of Jai Nagar have to travel a distance of 200 km to reach Patna. Therefore, number of trains from Jai Nagar to Kota should be increased.

5. Need to Include Bagheli language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution

.SHRI AJAY PRATAP SINGH: (Spoke in Bagheli.)

6. Need to Stop Human Trafficking

SHRI : In Chhattisgarh, about 33 children brought from Bihar last week, were deboarded at a railway station there on the information of two lawyers. The children were being taken from Howrah to Mumbai. Similar incident has already occurred there with about 100 children before this incident. These children of the age group 8 to 10 years have been kept in Rajnandgaon and it should be investigated as to why they were being taken and what was happening with them, so that such incidents of human trafficking do not happen again.

(Shrimati Viplove Thakur associated.)

______

. Synopsis of speech delivered by hon’ble Member in Bagheli will be published separately as supplement.

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7. Need for Expansion of Air Strip at Meerut

SHRI VIJAY PAL SINGH TOMAR: The Central Government has decided to connect various major cities of the country with air services under the Udan Yojana. Meerut is a major city of western Uttar Pradesh, which assumes historical significance. The city has Asia's largest church which is visited by thousands of foreigners every year. If the air services are started from Meerut, it will also reduce the traffic of Delhi. Meerut is the country's second largest hub in sports' goods. Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow is 550 kms away from Meerut and the High Court is about 750 kms away. Two very famous pilgrimage centres in Varanasi and Gorakhpur are more than 800 kms away from Meerut and it takes 12 to 20 hours to reach these places from Meerut via railways. So, I request that by expanding the air strip in Meerut, domestic air services should be started from here to various cities of the country.

8. Illegal Acquisiton of Large Forest Land in Eco-Sensitive Aravallis by Private Companies

SHRI JAIRAM RAMESH: The Aravallis extends from Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and ends up in Gujarat. In recent days, there have been investigative reports of the illegal purchase of over 400 acres of forested common lands by a very high profile private company. It violates Supreme Court orders because it is a hilly forest area and hilly forest cannot be diverted to other purposes. And all common lands which have been encroached upon must be returned to Gram Panchayats. These purchases constitute a misadventure. The Aravallis are very eco-sensitive areas. The environmental devastation in the Aravallis is visible. I urge the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to take a firm position and cancel all these illegal purchases that have been made through the power of attorney.

(Shri D. Raja, Shrimati Viplove Thakur and Shri Husain Dalwai associated.)

9. Resumption of Mining in Goa 344

SHRI VINAY DINU TENDULKAR: All the mines based in Goa have been closed down following an order delivered by the Supreme Court in the year 2018. The population of Goa stands at 15.5 lakhs, out of which 75,000 families have been affected by this order. The parents cannot deposit even the fees of their children. The economy of Goa depends on tourism and mining. The Government should enact a law in this regard to immediately resume mining in the mines that have been closed down in Goa.

(Shri Sanjay Raut, Dr. Vikas Mahatme, Shri Shamsher Singh Manhas and Shri Sanjay Singh associated.)

10. Vacant Faculty Positions in Central University of Odisha

SHRI PRASHANTA NANDA: The Central University of Odisha was established in 2009. It is situated at Koraput where mostly ST people are there. The motto of this University is nation-building. This University is a member of the Association of Indian Universities, and it was established with a view to impart professional and non-professional education, to carry out research work and to conduct training. But in the University, out of 23 posts of Professor, none have been filled up. Out of 43 Associate Professor posts, there is just one Associate Professor; the vacancy position is 42. Out of 154 Lecturers, only 17 Lecturers are posted, with 137 vacant posts. Under these circumstances, it would not be possible for the university to carry out its functions. I urge upon the Minister to look into this matter immediately, because the academic session is just about to start.

(Shri Prasanna Acharya associated)

11. Payment of Arrears to the Sugarcane Farmers

SHRI SURENDRA SINGH NAGAR: I would like to draw the attention of the Government towards the payment of arrears of the sugarcane farmers in the country. During the crushing season of 2018-19, the sugar mills owe an arrears of over ten thousand crore rupees to the farmers till date in the state of Uttar Pradesh. 345

Besides, the outstanding interest stands at nearly two thousand crore rupees. In the western Uttar Pradesh alone, 42 sugar mills owe above five thousand crore rupees. The sugarcane farmers are facing a crisis of payment of the price of their produce today. A promise was made during the election in Uttar Pradesh that the price of sugarcane would be paid within 14 days after the government was formed. But, this promise has not been fulfilled even today. A package is given to the sugar mill owners in the name of farmers. They are provided loans at lower rates of interest, but they do not utilize that loan to pay arrears to sugarcane farmers. The Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane (supply and procurement regulation) Act says that arrears including interest of the sugarcane farmers should be paid within 14 days. But even principal amount is not being paid to them. I request that the arrears should be paid to the sugarcane farmers within 14 days and an interest should also be paid on the amount.

(Several hon’ble Members associated.)

12. Provision of Written Replies to Questions Raised or Tabled in Parliament in Regional Languages

SHRI G.V.L. NARASIMHA RAO: Recently, there are media reports that the hon. Supreme Court has decided to make available the certified copies of all the judgements of the hon. Supreme Court in select Indian regional languages. Our work would be greatly appreciated if the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament are extensively circulated in regional languages also. At present, answers to the questions raised during the Question Hour are supplied in English and Hindi. A large number of regional language media publications do not have the resources to translate all these and carry in the newspapers the following day. Government should make a beginning and supply the replies of all the questions in one regional language of the choice of the Member himself or herself so that this information can be immediately circulated in the regional language media. It would be greatly appreciated by the country if we supply all our replies in regional languages.

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(Several hon’ble Members associated.)

13. Looming Threat of Drought in the Country

SHRI REWATI RAMAN SINGH: There is a situation of severe drought across the country. Rainfall was 33 percent less in June this year. Today, severe drought conditions are prevailing in 18 States. The first week of July has passed, but it did not rain as much as it should have been. The rainfall has been low, due to which the plantation of paddy crop is not taking place. This will affect kharif crop in the coming days and it will also affect the production. Ironically, many States have both flood and drought situations. Every year several farmers commit suicide. Government should take urgent steps to stop this and the States which are affected by drought, should be taken care of by the government.

14. Rejection of Tamil Nadu NEET Exemption Bill

SHRI A. NAVANEETHAKRISHNAN: Two Bills were passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislature, one for MBBS and the other for BDS, seeking exemption from NEET. Now, it has come to light that the hon. President has rejected both the Bills. I am of the humble opinion, that the hon. President need not accept the advice given by the Central Government. It is the Legislative Assembly's right to bring a Bill and, as per the law, it has been forwarded to the hon. President. The hon. President has to give his assent mandatorily. Only then the jurisdiction of the Central Government comes. That procedure is legally valid. So, I urge the Central Government not to impose the NEET in Tamil Nadu because it is affecting the poor students of the State.

SHRI TIRUCHI SIVA: The NEET examination for the medical colleges, stands as a stumbling block for the poor students and those students, who are from the rural areas. It does not take into consideration the high marks secured by students in class XII. The examination is conducted under CBSE syllabus and those students, who are from rural side and who have studied State syllabus, are not 347 able to cope up with this syllabus. Only those students, who have studied under coaching centres are able to write the examination. Poorer students are not able to do so. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously passed two Bills, which have come to the Union Government. Now, it has been revealed in the Supreme Court that the Home Ministry has rejected the proposal of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. This is totally against the spirit of federalism. (Several hon’ble Members associated.) ______SPECIAL MENTIONS 1. Demand to Providing Equal Education Facility to All DR. SATYANARAYAN JATIYA: Public welfare schemes have been expanded in the general budget of the central government. Also, the concept of establishing international standards in the field of education has been conceived. With education, knowledge and science, a person, a society and a nation become prosperous. To ensure that all are well educated in this new India, it is important that all children are brought to education centers. Every child can be educated by expanding the Anganwadi program to and improving its quality. In this way, the goal of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas aur Sabka Vishwas' can be achieved. (Shrimati Kanta Kardam Associated.) 2. Demand to Give Representation to Rajasthan in the High- Level Committee of National Calamity Fund SHRI NARAYAN LAL PANCHARIYA: I would like to draw the attention of the Central Government towards the need for representation to the Rajasthan State in the high level committee set up for the National Disaster Fund. National Disaster Relief Fund has been constituted under Section 46 of the National Disaster Management Act. This fund provides additional assistance to States to tackle disasters. The decision related to the use of this fund is taken by a high level committee. Rajasthan is the largest state in the country. In

348 such a large terrain, we often have to face different types of disasters. I urged the government that the State of Rajasthan may be given representation in the high level committee set up with regard to National Disaster Fund so that the people of Rajasthan may be given necessary relief in these disasters. 3. Demand to Utilize the Proceeds Collected through Education Cess for Improvement in the Education SHRI K. SOMAPRASAD: I would like to draw the attention of the House and the Government regarding accumulation and non- utilization of education cess. It is credited in the Consolidated Fund of India. Though, the tax proceeds are shared with the States and the Union Territories, cess proceeds are not shared with them. For proper utilization of cess, the Government has to create suitable fund utilizing systems. But, the Government has not taken any serious steps in the matter. Government must take urgent steps to utilize the cess proceeds and publish an annual account of the manner in which the fund has been utilized. The Central Government may share the money with the State Governments for the infrastructure development of school education. (Shri K.K. Ragesh, Shri Elamaram Kareem and Ch. Sukhram Singh Yadav Associated.) 4. Demand to restore Broad Gauge Lines in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari Districts Back to Madurai Division SHRIMATI VIJILA SATHYANANTH: When Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil-Kanyakumari line was opened in the year 1979, it was under the Madurai Division of Southern Railway. Later, Thiruvananthapuram Division was formed by carving out some of the Broad Gauge sections of Madurai Division. It was then mentioned that when the Tirunelveli Madurai Line would be converted into Broad Gauge line, all the sections falling under Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari Districts would be transferred back to Madurai Division. People have been demanding the merger of all Broad Gauge lines in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts with Madurai Division. There is no proper development of basic 349 infrastructure of stations and rail services for the people of Tirunelveli district living around Melapalayam-Sengulam-Nanguneri-Vallioor- Panagudi along the Nagercoil-Tirunelveli line. There is a demand that long distance trains should be stopped at Platform No. 1 of Vallioor Station. Melapalayam station requires for high-level platforms, shelters, basic facilities etc. I urge that the announcements at all the railway stations should be made in Tamil also. I urge upon the Railway Board to restore broad gauge lines in Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari Districts back to Madurai Division. (Several hon’ble Members associated.) 5. Demand to increase Seats in Medical College and improve their Infrastructure Accordingly in the Aftermathof 10% EWS Reservation DR. SANTANU SEN: A Bill was passed in last Parliament Session in which it was told that 10 per cent seats will be there in every college of all the sectors for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Accordingly, Government of India-appointed MCI Board of Governors issued a circular to all the State and Medical Colleges to increase 25 per cent medical seats. Later on, they put forward certain conditions for the same, namely, (i) Medical colleges should have reservation for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes candidates; (ii) Medical colleges should provide 15 per cent seats for all-India quota, and, (iii) Fees of private medical colleges should be fixed by the State Governments. Moreover, as per the circular dated 21st June, there were 44 medical colleges in which seats were supposed to be increased from 150 to 200. But, out of 44, in 10 medical colleges, it was made 150 to 175; in 15 medical colleges, it was made from 150 to 180, and, in 19 medical colleges, it was made from 150 to 200.

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6. Need to Pass Women's Reservation Bill SHRI SASMIT PATRA: The Women's Reservation Bill aims at empowering the women of India by ensuring 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies. It was expected that after the elections, with the new Government coming to power, the fortunes of passing the Women's Reservation Bill would improve. But in this session of Parliament, it has not been brought forth. In Odisha, 33 per cent reservation for women for contesting elections in 2019 was ensured. 50 per cent reservation was provided for women in Panchayati Raj institutions in Odisha. Delegations have been sent to about 22 political parties to garner support for passing the Women's Reservation Bill. A few political parties in India showed their resolve in supporting this initiative. The Government must take immediate steps in this regard. The Women's Reservation Bill will be a strong step in the direction of ensuring representation of women in the governance of the nation and the States. (Shrimati Vijila Sathyananth associated.) 7. Demand to Strictly Implement the Ban Imposed on Fishing during Fishing Suspension Period in the Rivers SHRI VISHAMBHAR PRASAD NISHAD: There is a network of rivers across the country. In North India, there are large rivers which include, the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Saryu and their tributaries. From 1st June to 31st August, there is ban on fishing in these rivers during rainy season. The big fish lay eggs during this period and propagate. There are different types of fish also which clean water. The government should facilitate dropping of 25 crore eggs of fish in every river with the help of State Governments. It should be mandatory for contractors to facilitate dropping of at least five lakh fish-fry in the rivers of their areas every year. It is usually seen that contractors take out big fish which are in the process of laying eggs, during the period of ban. As a result, rivers do not get cleaned up due to decreasing number of fish in the water. Therefore,

351 in order to promote fishing and keeping in view the cleaning of rivers government should ban fishing during the said period. (Shri Chunibhai Kanjibhai Gohel associated.) 8. Demand to Mount An Awareness Campaign to Contain Drug Abuse in the Country and Accelerate the Implementation of National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction SHRIMATI WANSUK SYIEM: Hailing from the North- East, I am aware of the extent and gravity of situation in which persons and, of late, the student community, are abusing psychotropic substances. Living close to international borders, the youth in the region, including school and college students, have easy access to sedatives and inhalants pushed by the drug mafia. This menace earlier confined to affluent sections of the society has now percolated to communities from the lower social rungs and the economically weaker sections. The debilitating effect of drugs make them both physical and mental wrecks at the young age when they should be seriously studying to build a better future. For fear of social ostracisation, they suffer silently and shun approaching Government hospitals or counselling clinics run by NGOs. I urge the Government to mount an awareness campaign to contain drug abuse in the country and accelerate the implementation of National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction. (Shri K.G. Kenye associated.) 9. Demand to Take Measure to Reduce Pollution in Vashishti River in Konkan Coast, Maharashtra SHRI HUSAIN DALWAI: The Vashishti River is one of the largest rivers in the Konkan coast of Maharashtra. The town of Chiplun lies on its banks. Crocodiles were known to inhabit the waters. For some years now, Chiplun has attracted many adventure tourists for a crocodile safari. Recently the Vashishti, the main part of which falls in Ratnagiri district, has been affected vastly due to the Koyna Hydroelectric Project and the Lote Parshuram Industrial Area (LIA). Now it stands polluted and proving a threat to its ecological

352 system. There has been a wave of setting up chemical industrial zones on the banks of these west-flowing, diversity-rich rivers. Chemical industries have been set up on the Patalganga river (Patalganga Rasayani Industrial Area). ______

STATUTORY RESOLUTION

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE (SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR): I move that in pursuance of section 8A(1) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, read with sub-section (3) of section 7 of the said Act, this House hereby approves of notification No.5/2019-Customs, dated 16.02.2019 [G.S.R. 124(E) dated 16th February, 2019] which seeks to amend the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act so as to insert new tariff item 9806 00 00 under Chapter 98 of the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 to prescribe 200% customs duty on all goods originating in or exported from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In pursuance of section 8A(1) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, read with sub-section (3) of section 7 of the said Act, this House hereby approves of notification No.16/2019-Customs dated 15.06.2019 [G.S.R. 425(E) dated 15th June, 2019] which seeks to increase basic customs duty on the following goods:- (a) Lentils (Mosur) (0713 40 00) from 40% to 50%; (b) Boric acid (2810 00 20) from 17.5% to 27.5%; and (c) Other diagnostic and laboratory reagents (3822 00 90) from 20% to 30%.”

The Statutory Resolutions were adopted. ______

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GOVERNMENT BILL The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2019 THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (DR. HARSH VARDHAN, moving the motion for consideration of the Bill, said: This Bill is a small amendment in the Dentists Act of 1948 which provided for the constitution of a Dental Council of India to regulate the profession of dentistry. The Dental Council of India regulates the standards of dental education, the dental profession and the dental ethics. It also makes recommendations for opening of new colleges, starting of new or higher courses of studies and gives permission for increasing the admission capacity and recognition of degrees, including the foreign degrees. There is a provision for maintaining a register i.e. the Indian Dentists Register in this Bill. This is a list of all the dental practitioners in the country and has two parts; Part A and Part B. Part A of the register consists of qualified dental surgeons, and Part B consists of practitioners who practice dentistry without any formal degree. There is a list of about 2,70,000 dental practitioners who have a formal degree in dental surgery. The number of practitioners in Part B is only about 979 and there has been no addition after the year 1972. Basically this amendment is to rationalize this legislation and to eliminate the redundancy aspect. This is a very simple legislation. It will give better proportion to the qualified dental surgeons in the Dental Council of India and they will be able to exercise their duties in a far better manner This Bill does not have anything controversial. SHRI A. NAVANEETHAKRISHNAN: I request the Government to bring another legislation giving exemption to dentistry from NEET examination. DR. SANTANU SEN: In our country, dental education was started in the year 1920 since then it has remained as a much neglected sector of health education. Job opportunities are very less for the dentists. Presently 75 per cent of adult Indians have dental problems. my humble suggestion to the hon. Minister is that each and every primary health centre of our country should be manned by, at

354 least, one dentist. 95 per cent Indians have gum problems only two per cent go for dental check up. It needs vigorous awareness. My suggestion will be that instead of bringing in the bridge course, we should try to bring up and develop this age-old dentistry medicine as a whole. SHRI RAM NATH THAKUR: I support the Dentist (Amendment) Bill, 2019. By this amendment the provision w.r.t. registration of such dental practitioners who were either displaced during partition in the country or were displaced from Bangladesh before 14 April, 1957 and 25 March, 1971 or were repatriated from Burma or Ceylon, under Part B, has been abolished. SHRI PRASANNA ACHARYA: This is a very welcome step taken by the Government. These few doctors, who are in the 'B' category in the register and do not have the recognised degree, may be given a short-term training so that they can update themselves with the modern science and technology. My suggestion is that almost all the Community Health Centres should have a dental surgeon posted therein. More and more dentists should come out. A large number of private colleges are coming up and they charge high rate of fee for admission from students. The Government should take care of that. I support this Bill. SHRI K. SOMAPRASAD: I support this Bill. It is regarding deleting the provision for nomination of dentists registered in Part B to Dental Council. Dental diseases are regarded as a major public health problem by the WHO. Poor dental health can contribute to serious health issues. The dental profession in our country is in a dilapidated condition. Lack of job opportunities is the most crucial challenge in this field. There should not be more new dental colleges without prior field study. Urgent measures should be taken to ensure quality of dental education. SHRI V. VIJAYASAI REDDY: On behalf of my Party I support the Bill. The only suggestion which I would like to make is that all the 29 States of the country be given representation in the

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Central Dental Council. It is a professional body. Removal of two nominations from Part-B is definitely appreciable. DR. K. KESHAVA RAO: This is a very simple Bill. It is only changing Part-A and Part-B. Part-B people were unqualified. Quacks are practising, everybody is known as dentist. They are practising under the boards of regular qualified doctors. The Government is doing a right thing by taking it from Part-B to Part-A. The Government must do is that not only the quacks should be removed but the doctors who are lending their name to these quacks must be penalized. We must give more representation to States instead of only six. Let us be very clear and be very strict so that the quality of dentists is improved. SHRI ASHOK SIDDHARTH: I believe that a comprehensive bill on this would have been good. Regional imbalance in the Dental Colleges across the country is very high. I suggest that whether it is a matter of admission in government medical colleges or in private medical colleges, if we have to improve our dental health in our villages, we have to pay attention to it. Doctors should be given mandatory responsibilities of at least 5 years of rural health service. In every P.H.C., in every C.H.C., the deployment of dentists should be made mandatory. I support this bill. SHRI VISHAMBHAR PRASAD NISHAD: With regard to the Dentist (Amendment) Bill, 2019, I have to say that there is a shortage of dentist throughout the country. Quacks also treat the disease of many people, they cure them. There are also dentists at many places who treat all the poor people. I believe they should be registered. More seats should be enhanced to remove the shortage of dentists in the country and more medical colleges should be opened and seats should be increased in existing dental colleges. I support this bill. SHRI BINOY VISWAM: The House has the right to discuss all the Bills properly. There are 2,78,000 registered dentists in the country today. They are product of different Dental Colleges which, today comes up to 332. Many of these colleges are in a very

356 shabby condition. There is no proper faculty and no proper equipment. Nothing is there but only money collected in the name of capitation fee. I would request the Government to make sure that the dental colleges in the country are run in a proper way. In each PHC in the country it should be ensured that there is, at least, one dental surgeon who is qualified and not a quack. The second point is, in the Dental Council, all States should be represented. In that representation, make sure that the women, the transgenders, the SC/ST, the OBC, all of them are properly represented. SHRI GOPAL NARAYAN SINGH: I support this bill. We have around 270,000 dentists, there is a great need of MDS all over the country, while their production is very low. Therefore, there should be arrangements for a dentist at the block level or in the social centers, which is not yet available. There is no security in the job of the dentist in the country. Along with that, I urge you to appoint a dentist on behalf of the government in every block. I support the bill. THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE, THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN), replying to the discussion, said: One is about the membership of the Dental Council of India This Bill is about only the nominations that are done by the Central Government. Dental Council of India has got representation from all the States and representation from all the Universities Dental Council of India has one registered dentist in Part A of the register from each State. All these provisions have been made in the Act of 1948. There is representation from all the universities It is not only about these six members who are nominated. We are removing only that mandatory provision of having, at least, minimum two from this in the year 2014 itself. We had launched the National Health Programme This was to strengthen the public health facilities of the country. Right now, you must be aware that in the Ayushman Bharat, one component of Ayushman Bharat is to provide the financial support and care at the 16,000 hospitals to over ten crore families. But, the other component is development of the health and wellness centres at 1.5 lakh places,

357 where we are converting those healthcare delivery systems in the country at the rural level into health and wellness clinics it includes component of oral health as a very strong component. The target is to create 1.5 lakhs by 2022 when we want to deliver 'A New India', the dream of our Prime Minister. This has a National Health Mission Component. It is provided to States to set up dental care units at district hospitals And under this National Health Mission, already 1,759 dental care units have been supported by the National Oral Health Programme till date. Then, also we have a provision and which is being done, is preparing State and district level trainers by conducting national and regional workshops. the Centre for Dental Education and Research at AIIMS has been identified as the National Centre of Excellence, We released the National Health Policy. People are advised and motivated to quit either smoking or tobacco- chewing etc,etc., so that prevalence of oral cancer in the country can be reduced. The planning for the same has been initiated. Two year pilot interventional project on oral health of pregnant woman at VMMC and Safdarjung Hospital and resource centres for national oral health policy are in the process of a programme; national oral health programme, national oral health care, is very much a part of our policy. Similarly, under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, free screening and treatment of 31 selected diseases is done Children diagnosed with illness will receive treatment including surgeries at the Tehsil level, At least quitting of these habits relating to smoking, tobacco, pan masala, etc. should be encouraged. This is something which falls under the domain of the Dental Council of India. The motion for consideration of the Bill was adopted. Clauses etc., were adopted. The Bill was passed. ______

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I. STATUTORY RESOLUTION Disapproving the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (No. 9 of 2019) II. GOVRNMENT BILL The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 SHRI ELAMARAM KAREEM, moving the statutory Resolution, said: That this House disapproves the Aadhaar and other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 (No. 9 of 2019) promulgated by the President of India on 2nd March 2019. I once again stand to oppose the Ordinance as well as the Bill because it basically violates the fundamental rights of the citizens this country there was no compelling circumstances prevailing in the country when the Ordinance was promulgated. Such an important law-making process should have been undertaken after a detailed debate. Minister, a renowned lawyer may know very well about our duty to safeguard the life and livelihood of the people of this country. The lofty platform on which Aadhaar stands is supported on the myth that biometric based identity is infallible robust and safe It is under-mining the propriety of the parliamentary democracy. THE MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, THE MINISTER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE MINISTER OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD) moving the motion for consideration of the Bill, said: The Supreme Court said that if a child becomes an adult, he must have the right to withdraw because his consent was given by his parents. We made a provision for linking of Aadhaar for getting a SIM Card. Supreme Court said, ‘Don’t do it under rules; come with law.’ Government has set up Justice Srikrishna Committee to go into the entire gamut of this. The Committee had recommended that functioning of Aadhaar must be strengthened, authority must be given more powers and there must be more punitive provisions so that there is no deviation voluntary’ is one which is acquired with the consent of customer. Therefore, the element of consent has been put as a pre-condition for voluntary 359 identification.The present law also makes a provision very clearly and categorically that no company banking or telecom shall keep the data or Aadhaar number or biometric, apart from the elementary identity credentials. We have also done one more thing. It is offline verification. Aadhaar is also, clearly, needed for disbursal of subsidy and saving the entire misuse of those provisions. We are giving the benefit to schemes that are paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India. 123.81 crore Indians are having Aadhaar. ‘direct benefit transfer’. We have sent direct benefit transfer of Rs. 7.48 lakh crore, in more than 240 schemes, to the people around the country. You are aware that when we amended the Telegraph Act and Money Laundering Rules, then there was amendment in income tax also. DR. ABHISHEK MANU SINGHVI: I rise to oppose this Bill. I want to put my words in six-eight points. It distorts the entire existence and concept of the AADHAR. Firstly, it is necessary to know its exact form, nature and existence. AADHAR is not one country, one identity. The Supreme Court said in its decision that Aadhar is not a mechanism for monitoring and control. This is not for a private agency, but for a government agency. Its purpose is to provide services, benefits and support to the public welfare schemes. This is not for mobile and bank account. Our apprehension regarding Aadhar is about data collection, data transfer and data misuse. Aadhar collects the most sensitive data, which is our personal data - biometric or physical. The Government should come with a Data Protection Act to deal with data collection, data transfer, data misuse. There are six rights which a Data Protection Act gives. These rights are 'Right to Confirmation and Access', 'Right to Correction', 'Right to Data Portability', 'Right to Explanation', 'Right to Eraser' and 'Right to Object.' Incidentally, a 'Right to Object' is accepted in the European Union but it was not accepted by the Sri krishna Report. When the government will bring that Data Protection Act, we will ask for an inclusion of the Right to Object. The Government must bring a Data Protection Act and again amend Aadhaar! Then the question of Right to Privacy comes. The Government have got two judgements, the Srikrishna Committee Report and an assurance by the Minister. Then, why did the government need an Ordinance? The government should 360 have passed the Data Protection Act immediately. But it brought in an Ordinance, which is today's Bill and did nothing on data protection. Did the government want to tell this House that it would want to amend the Aadhaar Act further with a new Data Protection Act or to misuse data and hence do not have a Data Protection Act in place? The Court said, "Do not go beyond subsidies, do not go beyond DBT, do not go beyond services". Is the government not distorting it? The government wants to use it as a tool of control! On the question of use of Aadhaar for establishing the identity of an individual for any purpose, the Court said that this is unconstitutional, hence some sections were struck down. But those Sections are again reincarnated in this Act. It is our duty as law-makers to warn you in advance, why pass something which is unconstitutional. The Economic Survey and the Budget, for the first time, talks of monetizing data. Data becomes an economic unit for the Economic Survey. If you are thinking of monetizing data, without a Data Protection Act, it is the most absurd thing. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR: Narendra Modi Government is delivering financial support to crores of Indians around the country in a corruption-free, leakage-free and efficient manner. During UPA Government, it was bleak, a failed and declining economy. Under the UPA, thousands of crores of public money was spent on Aadhaar. Millions of people were enrolled without verification. It was sloppy verification as an identity card for elections. Prime Minister could have dumped this project. He chose not to waste public money and the infrastructure created and to put it to use. The Aadhaar of the UPA and the Aadhaar of the NDA-II are very different. The UPA's Aadhaar was weak. There was no debate, there was no scrutiny, there was no legislation, there was no protection for consumers' data. After the NDA came to power, there were multiple parliamentary debates, there was parliamentary scrutiny and there was even judicial scrutiny. In 2016, Parliament passed the Aadhaar Bill. Aadhaar was moved from being a national identification platform to a direct subsidy delivery platform. Under our Government, the UIDAI tightened the verification and enrolment process. The large numbers of enrolment agencies were also made legally accountable. Leakage 361 was plugged. Mirror databases were the cause of the leakages between 2010-16. Former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi said that out of every rupee that is sent from the Delhi, only 15 paise reach the beneficiaries. Public spending on subsidies kept increasing, leakages and corruption also kept increasing. Aadhaar today has become a symbol of Narendra Modi Government's determination to use technology and tools. It is to ensure that Government's programmes and subsidies reach the poorest of the poor.This platform, over the last five years, has delivered directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries, over 7 lakh crore of public funds and saved 1.4 lakh crore of rupees. From 2010-2014, when Aadhaar was being architected, they clearly knew the issues of Aadhaar. They did not say a word about privacy and about the weaknesses in Aadhaar. I urge the Congress to work with the Government on the development of this powerful micro-architecture of Aadhaar, JDY and DBT that is truly making a difference to crores of Indian lives. It is an authentication database. It is not a data surveillance tool. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Aadhaar has evolved and grown. Today, 1.23 billion Indians have enrolled on Aadhaar and it is a much more robust system. This Government is committed to using technology to positively impact the lives of people. Aadhaar and the wider JDY architecture together and separately have many more roles that they can play in use of technology to deliver better public services and governance. The amendments will strengthen the concepts of privacy. Data protection is an issue that covers the entire spectrum of consumer-citizen activity online and offline. I would request my colleagues from the other side to be part of the process of evolving a data protection legislation and an overall framework. I request the entire House to unanimously support these amendments to the Aadhar Act to ensure use of Aadhar in corruption-free delivery of subsidies and benefits. SHRI RAVI PRAKASH VERMA: The need of AADHAR was to hide the shortcomings of the distribution system. Before the economic reforms, administrative and judicial reforms should have been done. Despite the extensive distribution system, the government is not able to stop theft. Today, the common man is giving rupees 10- 12 thousand for a toilet and rupees 50 thousand for a house. This is 362 not the option of administrative failures. Niti Aayog is seriously considering that the ration card holders should be linked to Aadhar and subsidy should be sent to their accounts and they should not be given foodgrains. This solution will be worse than the problem. We are putting in place authority, giving it power, but the authority does not have the power to punish. Professional hackers work by taking money. Our data is with banks, mobile companies, what is the measure that the government has for its protection. The need for Aadhar was to identify the poor, but it is being used to detect the economic behaviour of the people. Aadhar is connected to our bank, the mobile, to the financial institution. The data protection act is needed. With these words now I conclude. SHRI S. MUTHUKARUPPAN: The Aadhaar Act provides targeted delivery of subsidies and benefits to individuals residing in India by assigning them Unique Identity Numbers called Aadhaar numbers. It becomes all the more important to have a regulatory framework due to the widespread use of Aadhaar by citizens of our country. An individual's identity may be verified by Aadhaar 'authentication'. I hope and strongly believe that checks and balances, which are proposed, will definitely ensure data protection. It is clearly evident that the Aadhaar can be voluntary and not a mandatory. The Bill aims to create the Unique Identification Authority of India Fund, and all fees, grants and charges received by the UIDAI shall be credited to this fund. The Bill defines the Aadhaar ecosystem to include enrolling agencies, requesting agencies. It allows the UIDAI to issue directions to them. Necessary protection for the data security and privacy of the individual should be ensured. Besides making Aadhaar voluntary and not a mandatory one, all other forms of identities may be either linked with one another, or, shall be allowed to use by the individual on his or her discretion. SHRI SUKHENDU SEKHAR RAY: I rise to oppose this Bill. In this Session, six Ordinances have been turned into Bills and passed by this Parliament without the scrutiny of any Standing Committee or Select Committee or Joint Committee. And in this way, six Ordinances were promulgated, turned into Bills, and passed. This

363 is the seventh one. So, the importance of Parliament is being denigrated day by day by the present Government. This Amendment Bill is circumventing the Supreme Court orders and judgment of September 2018 whereby the apex Court struck down Section 57 of the parent Aadhaar Act, which enabled the corporate body or even an individual to seek authentication through that Unique Identification Number. But the UIDAI has said that they cannot certify or verify or authenticate the database of others. The Supreme Court, while passing the judgment in September, 2018 held that there should be an authority, data protection authority, which the Government has not cared to do. This Bill says that other than the DBT, it could be voluntary option. Majority of people of our country are not aware of legal rights. They don't know how if their personal information can be used or misused. In our country, data of 130 million Aadhaar cards had been leaked in 2017 from the government websites. It has not been mentioned in this Bill as to how the database of the Aadhaar card holders will be protected and by which authority. After the Supreme Court judgment of 2018, we expected that the Government would come first with a data protection Bill and then subsequently will introduce the other amendments. But, this Government has come without any such legislation. The UIDAI has admitted that it does not certify the biometric or demographic data associated with the Aadhaar card numbers. It seems that there is no view about the number of unique records based on biometric or demographic fields. Nobody takes the responsibility. In a democratic set-up, various authorities have been entrusted with huge powers to exercise for common good. They cannot exercise those powers at their whims and fancies. But the objective of the Bill is not for common good, but for a section of the people and that is mainly the private operators. The government with that brute majority want to do and undo whatever they want. In a democratic set-up, if the Constitutional powers or statutory powers are exercised at the whims and fancies of the authorities, then, there is a danger of rise of authoritarianism SHRI PRASHANTA NANDA: When those, who are in Opposition were in the Treasury Benches, took the credit of initiating Aadhaar and those who are in the Treasury Benches now were 364 opposing at a time. It is peculiar. I rise here to support the Bill. Aadhaar is a good law. In fact, the Government of Odisha, has given effect to it in a large measure and lakhs and lakhs of people, including farmers, who could not have been benefited from the country’s famous KALIA Scheme got benefited. Data protection related Bill should have been brought in the form of along with this. Hon'ble Minister should think of brining a Bill on data protection very soon. Around 124 crore people have accepted Aadhaar. They believed Aadhaar and in order to respect their belief, the Government should come up with data protection Bill as soon as possible. SHRIMATI KAHKASHAN PERWEEN: I am standing to support this bill. This base bill is not just the Aadhaar but it is the basis of living for the poor. This Aadhaar Bill is the basis for eradication of corruption. This bill is the basis for strengthening the person standing at the last level in the society. This bill is the basis for showing the government's policy and intention , so I support this bill. It is beneficial for the exploited, deprived, neglected, farmers and labourers of the society. Within two and a half years the government has detected fraudulent ration cards of 3.95 crores of people and saved 14 thousand crore rupees. correction in name of people at the village panchayat level or at the block level should be made. To help them, an awareness campaign should be run from the government so that they can be added with it. SHRI K.K. RAGESH: I stand to oppose this Bill. There are many issues involved in this Amendment Bill. Hence, it should be sent to a Standing Committee for a thorough legislative scrutiny. The principal Bill was brought here as a Money Bill, which was nothing but a fraud on the Constitution of our country. Ultimately, the Supreme Court had to struck down certain provisions of the Act. But you are not considering the spirit of the Supreme Court verdict. The Supreme Court had struck down Section 57 of the Act. It had held that Section 57 of the Act is unconstitutional. The Right to Privacy is a fundamental right. The government want to bypass the Supreme Court verdict, that is why, this amendment is brought here. The private entities are allowed to access data. In fact, the Supreme Court had

365 ruled that private companies must delete all the aadhar data. There are many privatised, outsourced Government responsibilities which are given to private companies. They have got the access to data. All these are violative of fundamental right to privacy. It is requested to the Government to address this issue also. This Bill is not meant to prevent leakage and identify real beneficiaries. This Bill is meant to eliminate deserving poor and to cut subsidy because your targeted delivery system had already eliminated many poor people who deserved to get benefits. In Kerala, through Targeted Public Distribution System, only 47 percentage of the total population has been identified as beneficiaries. Rest of the population has been denied of subsidies and benefits from Government schemes. PROF. MANOJ KUMAR JHA: I rise to express some serious concerns, about this proposed Bill. Some of those are very serious concerns. This will create lots of anomalies. Clause 4 of the Bill talks about off-line verification. Enforcement mechanism is not clear. There should be list of alternatives to biometric information. We have also seen that under the cover of informed consent, we have obtained coercive consent. Entity in the Aadhaar ecosystem should be defined in the clause 33. The idea of 'one nation one card', sounds good but I repeat that 'Legislative majority should be in sync with moral majority.' SHRI VEER SINGH: The Supreme Court had prevented the mandatory linking of Aadhaar Card to secure the privacy of common man. But, this Bill violates the same. There are a number of laws for data privacy, but they are not that much effective. Private companies have our data. The on-line shopping sites know our choices and they sell their items accordingly. Aadhar data is available with the Pradhan of Gram Sabhas. It can be misused. Holiday agencies keep an eye on our movements. The data is being misused in the name of national security and it should be stopped. A part of MNREGA wages is taken by the Sarpanch or Pradhan of the villages. A stringent legislation is required to be brought to check the same. Finger prints and face changes over the period of time. This should be taken care of.

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SHRI JAIRAM RAMESH: Let me clear that my petition in the Supreme Court was not against Aadhaar, but it was against bringing Aadhaar Bill as a Money Bill. Justice Chandrachud in para 116 has opined that the passage of the Aadhaar Act, as a Money Bill, is an abuse of the constitutional process. It constitutes a fraud on the Constitution. The majority Judgement says that there are circumstances in which the decision of the Speaker can actually be challenged in the Supreme Court. This Bill has not gone through any Parliamentary scrutiny. I am sure you will get it through. Under Clause 5 gives greater powers for seeking Aadhaar data. The Supreme Court is very clear. Aadhaar is voluntary but where subsidy or benefits are involved, it is mandatory. 'Mandatory authentication' words are used in the Clause 7. Section 5 violates the majority judgment of the Supreme Court but things are being done indirectly. Now, the hon. Minister has circumvented the judgment of Supreme Court and introduced Sections 24 and 25 in order to give favoured treatment to telecom service providers and to certain banks and private financial entities. This is a gross violation of the Supreme Court order. Aadhaar cannot be used as an instrument of exclusion. According to a study of ISB, 38 per cent payments of MGNREGA wages are diverted to unrelated accounts.

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Desh Deepak Verma, Secretary-General. [email protected]

****Supplement covering rest of the proceedings is being issued separately.

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ERRATA TO THE SUPPLEMENT TO SYNOPSIS OF DEBATE DATED 04th JULY, 2019

Page No. Line No. Correction 336 3-7 Delete 'The hon'ble ------Kannada script'.

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