Guwahati News Desk: The Lok Sabha in a session on Thursday, passed two Bills without any debate.
Although the Opposition members continued to protest over the Pegasus issue and the three Central farm laws, yet the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, cautioned them that he would be forced to take a strict action against those who were repeatedly disrupting the proceedings. So, despite the continuous opposition protests, the Lok Sabha passed two Bills before it was adjourned for the day.
The two bills included of The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) Amendment Bill, 2021 and The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021.
It was Dr. Kirit Premjibhai Solanki, who was in Chair and was the one who took up the two Bills.
The Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, moved the AERA Amendment Bill for passage after some scathing remarks on the Opposition benches.
Scindia stated, âDuring the pandemic, instead of discussion, the House is witnessing sloganeering… We will convert this crisis into an opportunity and provide all possible facilities to farmers and people… Let the people of the country know what great work the Prime Minister is doing and what they (Opposition) are doing.”
The amendment will be allowing the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to regulate tariff and other charges for aeronautical services for not just airports with annual passenger traffic of more than 35 lakh but also a group of airports. Once the Bill becomes a law, the government will be able to club profitable and non-profitable airports as a package for privatization as envisaged in this year’s Budget speech.
Furthermore, the Ports and Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal moved the Inland Vessels Bill that seeks to introduce a uniform regulatory framework for navigation across the country and provide a central database for registration of vessels and their crew.
As per the sources, in order to prevent pollution, the Inland Vessels Bill, specifies safety standards for the disposal of sewage, and vessels will be granted a certificate of prevention of pollution by State governments.