TUESDAY, THE 19TH DECEMBER, 2000 (The Rajya Sabha met in the Parliament House at 11.00 a.m.) 1. Reference to the Martyrdom Day of Shaheed-e-Watan Ashfaqullah Khan The Chairman made a reference to Shaheed-e-Watan Ashfaqullah Khan, a great martyr of the Freedom Movement who was sentenced to death and was executed on the 19th December, 1927. The House observed silence, all Members standing, as a mark of respect in the memory of Shaheed-e-Watan Ashfaqullah Khan. 11-02 a.m. 2. Starred Questions The following Starred Questions were orally answered. Starred Question No. 421 regarding Development of air-strip near Dehradun. Starred Question No. 422 regarding Setting-up of a National Calamity Continegency Fund. Starred Question No. 423 regarding Deregulation of oil sector. Answers to remaining Starred Question Nos. 424 to 427 and 429 to 440 were laid on the Table. 3. Unstarred Questions Answers to Unstarred Question Nos.3146 to 3167 and 3169 to 3300 were laid on the Table. 12 Noon 4. Statement by Minister Correcting Answer to Question Shri Tapan Sikdar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Communications laid on the Table a Statement (in English and Hindi) correcting the reply given in the Rajya Sabha on the 21st November, 2000 to Unstarred Question 133 regarding Teledensity Target of BSNL. RAJYA SABHA 12-01 p.m. 5. Papers Laid on the Table Shri Ananth Kumar (Minister of Tourism and Culture) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (i) (a) Annual Report of theCentral Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh,for the year 1997-98. (b) Annual Accounts of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh, for the year 1997-98, and the Audit Report thereon. (c) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute. (d) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) and (b) above. (ii) (a) Annual Report of theCentral Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh,for the year 1998-99. (b) Annual Accounts of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh, for the year 1998-99, and the Audit Report thereon. (c) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute. (d) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) and (b) above. (iii) (a) Annual Report of theCentral Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh,for the year 1999-2000. (b) Annual Accounts of the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh, Ladakh, for the year 1999-2000, and the Audit Report thereon. (c) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute. (iv) (a)Annual Report of the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda, Bihar, for the year 1999-2000. (b) Annual Accounts of the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda, Bihar, for the year 1999-2000, and the Audit Report thereon. (c) Review by Government on the working of the above Institute. 19TH DECEMBER, 2000 Shri Arun Jaitley (Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs with additional charge of Shipping) laid on the Table the following:- I. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Law, Justice & Company Affairs (Department of Company Affairs) Notification S.O. 991(E) dated 7.11.2000 regarding amalgamation of M/s Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (Coimbatore Division- III) Limited with M/s Tamil Nadu State Corporation (Coimbatore Division-I) Limited, under sub-section (5) of Section 396 of the Companies Act, 1956. II. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Law, justice & Company Affairs (Legislative Department) Notification S.O. 937(E) dated 17.10.2000 publishing the Delimitation of Council Constituencies (Maharashtra) Amendment Order, 2000, under sub-section (3) of Section 13 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. III. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Law, Justice & Company Affairs (Department of Legal Affairs) Notification G.S.R. No 166(E) dated 28.2.2000 publishing the National Legal Services Authority (Amendment) Rules, 2000, under sub-section (1) of Section 30 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. IV. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers: — (a) One Hundred and Seventy-first Report of the Law Commission of India on Biodiversity Bill. (b) One Hundred and Seventy-second Report of the Law Commission of India on Review of Rape Laws. (c) One Hundred and Seventy-Third Report of the Law Commission of India on Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2000. (d) One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Report of the Law Commission of India on Property Rights of Women: Proposed Reforms under Hindu Law. Shri Ram Vilas Paswan (Minister of Communication) laid on the Table the following papers:- I. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Communication Notification G.S.R.783(E) dated 11.10.2000 publishing the Indian Telegraph (Second Amendment) Rules, 2000, under sub-section (5) of Section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. RAJYA SABHA II. (1) A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers, under sub-section (4) of the section 23 and sub-section (3) of the section 24 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 :— (a) Annual Report and Accounts of theTelecom Regulatory Authority of India, New Delhifor the year 1998-99, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Orders of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, New Delhi for the year 1998-1999. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. 2. Statement (in English and Hindi) giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (1) above. Shri Arjun Sethi (Minister of Water Resources) laid on the Table the following papers:- I. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers, under sub-section (1) of section 619A of the Companies Act, 1956:— (a) Thirty-first Annual Report and Accounts of the Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited, New Delhi,for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. II. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the Annual Report and Accounts of the Narmada Control Authority, Indore for the year 1999-2000, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. III. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (i) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the National Water Development Agency, New Delhi, for the year 1999-2000, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. (ii) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, U.P., for the year 1999-2000, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. 19TH DECEMBER, 2000 Shri Yashwant Sinha (Minister of Finance) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the Supplementary Report of the Eleventh Finance Commission together with an Explanatory Memorandum on the action taken on the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission under article 281 of the Constitution of India. Shri Sharad Yadav (Minister of Civil Aviation) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (a) Annual Report and Accounts of theIndira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Academy, Fursatganj, Raibareli (UP), for the year 1999-2000, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Statement by Government accepting the above Report. Shri Santosh Gangwar (Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and additional charge of Parliamentary Affairs) laid on the Table the following papers:- I. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers, under sub-section (1) of section 619A of the Companies Act, 1956:— (i) (a) Thirty-fifth Annual Report and Accounts of the Engineers India Limited, New Delhi, for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. (ii) (a) Sixteenth Annual Report and Accounts of theGas Authority of India Limited, New Delhi, for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. (iii) (a) Twenty-sixth Annual Report and Accounts of the Bongaigaon Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited, Bongaigaon, Assam, for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. RAJYA SABHA II. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers, under sub-section (4) of section 20 of the Oil Industry (Development) Act, 1974:— (a) Twenty-fourth Annual Report and Accounts of the Oil Industry Development Board, New Delhi, for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Board. Shri E. Ponnuswamy (Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers under sub-section (1) of section 619A of the Companies Act, 1956:— (i) (a) Thirty-eighth Annual Report and Accounts of the Kochi Refineries Limited, Eranakulam, Kerala, for the year 1999-2000, together withthe Auditor's Report on the Accounts and the comments of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India thereon. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company.