RAJYA SABHA Parliamentary Bulletin PART - I (TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY EIGHTH SESSION) No. 5042] WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 Brief Record of the Proceedings of the Meeting of the Rajya Sabha held on the 27th February, 2013 @11-04 a.m. The House adjourned and re-assembled at 11-09 a.m. #11-12 a.m. 1. Starred Questions Starred Question Nos. 41 and 43 to 45 were orally answered. Answers to remaining Starred Questions (46 to 60) were laid on the Table. 2. Unstarred Questions Answers to Unstarred Question Nos. 311 to 465 were laid on the Table. 12-00 Noon. 3. Statement by Minister Correcting Answer to Question Shri A.K. Antony, Minister of Defence laid on the Table, a Statement (in English and Hindi) correcting the answer to Unstarred Question 2818 given in the Rajya Sabha on the 19th December, 2012, regarding ‘Employees of MoD holding elective office in K.B.’ 33374 @ From 11-00 a.m. to 11-04 a.m., some points were raised. # From 11-09 a.m. to 11-12 a.m., some points were raised. 33375 12-01 p.m. 4. Papers Laid on the Table The following papers were laid on the Table:— 1. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Indian Jute Industries Research Association (IJIRA), Kolkata, for the year 2011-12, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Association. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) above. 2. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Public Enterprises Survey (Volumes I and II), for the year 2011-12. 3. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Defence Notification No. G.S.R. 98, dated the November 18 - November 24, 2012, publishing the Navy Leave (Amendment) Regulations, 2012, under Section 185 of the Navy Act, 1957. 4. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Ministry of Home Affairs Notification F. No.4/1/2008/UD/13394, dated the 23rd October, 2012, publishing the New Delhi Municipal Council (Public Parks, Gardens or Recreation Grounds) Bye-laws, 2012, under Section 389 of the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994. 5. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Notifications of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Commerce), under sub-section (3) of Section 17 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963:— (1) S.O. 3023 (E), dated the 28th December, 2012, rescinding Notification No. S.O. 205, dated the 30th January, 1993. (2) S.O. 3024 (E), dated the 28th December, 2012, publishing the Export of Raw Meat (Chilled/Frozen) (Quality Control and Inspection) Amendment Rules, 2012. 6. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (a) Forty-seventh Annual Report and Accounts of the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA), New Delhi, for the year 2011-12, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. 33376 (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Council. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) above. 7. A copy (in English and Hindi) of the Economic Survey, 2012-13. 8. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers: — (a) Twenty-fifth Annual Report and Accounts of the Rehabilitation Council of India, New Delhi, for the year 2011-12, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Council. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (a) above. 9. A copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following papers:— (i) (a) Forty-ninth Annual Report and Accounts of the Tata International Limited, Mumbai, for the year 2011-12, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Company. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (i) (a) above. (ii) (a) Annual Report and Accounts of the Asian Centre for Entrepreneurial Initiatives (ASCENT), Karnataka, for the year 2011-12, together with the Auditor's Report on the Accounts. (b) Review by Government on the working of the above Centre. (c) Statement giving reasons for the delay in laying the papers mentioned at (ii) (a) above. 12-02 p.m. 5. Report of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Shri Jesudasu Seelam presented the Fifty-fifth Report (in English and Hindi) of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice on the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012. 33377 12-03 p.m. 6. Reports of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture Shri Sitaram Yechury presented the following Reports& (in English & Hindi) of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture:- (i) One Hundred Eighty-eighth Report on the “Functioning of Commission of Railway Safety” ; (ii) One Hundred Eighty-ninth Report on the “Development of National Waterways- Potential and Challenges”; and (iii) One Hundred Ninetieth Report on the “Development of Tourism in Darjeeling and Sikkim”. 12-04 p.m. 7. Reports of the Public Accounts Committee (2012-13) Shri N.K. Singh laid on the Table, a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following *Reports of the Public Accounts Committee (2012-13):— (i) Sixty-fourth Report on 'Excesses Over Voted Grants and Charged Appropriations (2010-11)'; (ii) Sixty-fifth Report on 'Role of Tea Board in Tea Development in India' pertaining to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Department of Commerce); (iii) Sixty-sixth Report on 'Expenditure incurred on Interest on Refunds of Taxes' pertaining to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue); (iv) Sixty-seventh Report on 'Construction of New Lines on Socio- Economic Consideration', 'Excessive Delays in Maintenance of Locomotive' and 'Functioning of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited' pertaining to the Ministry of Railways; & The Report was presented to Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 6th February, 2013. * These Reports were presented to the Speaker, Lok Sabha on the 16th January, 2013 and to the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on the 21st January, 2013. 33378 (v) Sixty-eighth Report on Action Taken by Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Thirty-first Report on 'Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP)' pertaining to the Ministry of Water Resources; and (vi) Sixty-ninth Report on Action Taken by Government on the Observations/Recommendations of the Committee contained in their Thiry-fifth Report on 'Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP)' pertaining to the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. 12-05 p.m. 8. Statement by Minister Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, Minister of Labour and Employment, laid on the Table, a Statement (in English and Hindi) on the Status of implementation of recommendations contained in the Twenty-eighth Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour. 12-06 p.m. 9. Motion for election to the National Jute Board A motion for election of one member to the National Jute Board was moved and adopted. 12-07 p.m. 10. Calling Attention to the Matter of Urgent Public Importance Dr. V. Maitreyan called the attention of the Minister of External Affairs to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Shri Salman Khursheed, Minister of External Affairs, made a statement. Thereafter, some Members sought clarifications on the statement. 33379 $2-45 p.m. 11. Short Duration Discussion Shri Prakash Javadekar raised a discussion on the purchase of VVIP helicopters from Agusta Westland by the Ministry of Defence. The following Members took part in the discussion:— ^3-08 p.m. 1. Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan *3-27 p.m. 2. Km. Mayawati 3-40 p.m. 3. Shri T.K. Rangarajan 3-46 p.m. 4. Shri Sukhendu Sekhar Roy 3-55 p.m. 5. Shri Naresh Agrawal 4-05 p.m. 6. Shri Shivanand Tiwari 4-12 p.m. 7. Shri Shashi Bhusan Behera 4-18 p.m. 8. Dr. V. Maitreyan 4-22 p.m. 9. Shri C.M. Ramesh 4-25 p.m. 10. Shri Naresh Gujral 4-32 p.m. 11. Dr. Chandan Mitra 4-46 p.m. 12. Shri P. Bhattacharya 4-58 p.m. 13. Shri D. Raja 5-04 p.m. 14. Dr. Bharatkumar Raut 5-12 p.m. 15. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad 5-24 p.m. Shri A.K. Antony, Minister of Defence, replied to the discussion. 5-56 p.m. Shri Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition, sought certain clarifications. Shri A.K. Antony responded. The discussion was concluded. $ From 12-25 p.m. to 12-27 p.m.; From 1-42 p.m. to 1-45 p.m.; and From 1-48 p.m. to 1-50 p.m., some points were raised. ^ From 3-06 p.m. to 3-08 p.m., some points were raised * From 3-12 p.m. to 3-13 p.m., some points were raised 33380 ♣6-13 p.m. 12. Motion for appointment of a Joint Committee Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Urban Development and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs moved the following Motion:— “That a Joint Committee of both the Houses consisting of 30 Members, 10 Members from Rajya Sabha and 20 Members from Lok Sabha, be appointed to inquire into the allegations of payment of bribes in the acquisition of VVIP Helicopters by the Ministry of Defence from M/s. Augusta Westland and the role of alleged middlemen in the transaction.