Two senior MLAs from Opposition parties on Tuesday demanded that in view of the COVID-19 situation, the salary of judicial officers too be reduced along with that of legislators. They raised the issue in the Assembly when Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy piloted the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances and Certain Other Law Bill, 2020, to reduce for one year the salaries and allowances of legislators by 30%.
Raising the issue, Janata Dal (S) member A.T. Ramaswamy alleged that judicial officers had increased salaries on their own. Senior Congress member H.K. Patil said those in the judiciary too should fall in line during COVID-19.
However, the Law Minister clarified that the system of allowing the judiciary to increase its salaries has been accepted for a long time. He refused to comment on the issue and said he would get the details and place them before the House. The House then adopted the Bill to replace the ordinance. This is expected to help raise resources to the tune of ₹15 crore to ₹16 crore.
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The Assembly also adopted the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which provides for the removal of discriminatory provisions in respect to leprosy-affected persons. The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2020, and the Kannada University and Certain Other Laws Bill too were adopted. The former makes provisions for separate registration and a grievance redressal authority and appellate authority in respect to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) area and to more fully handle COVID-19 cases.
Earlier in the day, the Karnataka State Civil Services (Prohibition of Absorption of the Services of the Employees of Establishments in Public Sector into Public Service) Bill, 2020, was also tabled. The Bill is seen as necessary to prevent the absorption of the employees of public sector enterprises into the State civil service. The establishments in the public sector face closure because of various reasons, and the employees of such establishments tend to demand that they be absorbed against posts in the civil services and approach the courts seeking this.
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The Karnataka Industries (Facilitation) Amendment Bill, 2020, was tabled to replace the ordinance. The Bill aims to provide temporary clearance to the manufacturing industry to establish units on filing combined application forms and to get prepared for commercial operation.
The Karnataka Lokayukta (Second Amendment) Bill, 2020, was also introduced in the Assembly to fix the time frame within which the preliminary inquiry and investigation are to be conducted by the Lokayukta or the Upa Lokayukta.
The Bill also envisages that inquiry reports should be submitted to the competent authority by the investigating agency for speedy disposal of pending grievances or complaints, to enable the Lokayukta to function more efficiently.