Today, the Lok Sabha continued with its discussion on Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
Union Minister of Road Transport and Highway’s while replying to demands for grants from his ministry, said that India’s road infrastructure would be as good as United States before 2024 concludes.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav today quit his Lok Sabha seat to retain his seat as an MLA in the U.P. Assembly. Mr Yadav was an MP from Azamgarh and won the Karhal seat in the recently-concluded state assembly elections.
TMC MP from West Bengal Mahua Moitra today proposed merging the Civil Aviation Ministry with either shipping or road transport and create a holistic ministry, saying that after the privatisation of national carrier Air India, the Ministry was not longer required.
On Monday, the Lower House took up discussion on the Demands for Grants from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, with parliamentarians highlighting issues with the working of the Ministry.
Here are the latest updates:
House adjourned till 11am on March 23.
Major part of Ministry budget dedicated to Air India disinvestment: INC’s Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary
Talking about the budget allocation for the Civil Aviation Ministry, Congress MP from West Bengal says that although the allocation to the Ministry in for 2022-23, shows and increase from 2020; 86.81% of the allocation is dedicated to “single purpose” of the disinvestment of national carrier Air India.
He points out that this leaves only 13.2% of the allocation or Rs. 1,407.09 crore for the MoCA.
Mr. Chowdhary, like multiple Opposition MPs in today’s section flagged lapses in the Centre’s low-cost flying scheme UDAN.
In his concluding remarks, the West Bengal MP said that various regulators have been established in India to look over security in just one sector- aviation. He pointed out that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Airports Authority of India (AAI), The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), and the pool of Civil Aviation Security, all regulate a single sector.
“The need of the hour is to amalgamate and merge all these regulators into one Civil Aviation Authority.... this will not only reduce the regulatory fatigue which is often experienced by the industry but shall also serve as a single-window clearance authority, their by reducing the operation costs for the industry,” he said.
All Indians legally bound to reply to Census queries: Centre
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in the Lok Sabha that Every Indian is legally bound to answer census questions and all requisite steps are being taken to carry out the census and the National Population Register exercise smoothly.
“Every person is legally bound to answer the census questions to the best of his or her knowable or belief. All requisite measures are taken with the support of the state governments to conduct the census and the National Population Register (NPR) exercise smoothly,” he said. -PTI
BJP MP defends Aviation Ministry’s UDAN scheme
Pointing out the Opposition MPs raised questions about the government’s low-cost flying UDAN scheme, BJP MP from Assam, Rajdeep Roy said that the scheme makes it possible to take a 250 km air journey for Rs. 2,500.
He compared this to a taxi ride in the National Capital, saying the per kilometre taxi fare in Delhi is Rs. 12, while that in the UDAN scheme, for each kilometre is Rs. 5, describing it as “unthinkable” in the present time.
Over 600 police stations in India don’t have a telephone connection, says Centre
The Home Ministry told the Lok Sabha that as many as 257 police stations in the country do not have any vehicle and 638 police stations do not have a telephone connection.
It said that the central government supplements the efforts of state governments towards equipping and modernising their police forces, by providing financial assistance under the Assistance to States for Modernisation of Police (ASMP) scheme.
“As on January 1, 2020, the number of police stations in the country not having a vehicle is 257, the number of police stations not having a telephone is 638 and the number of police stations not having a wireless set or mobile is 143,” Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai, said in a written response to a question. -PTI
Hardship of Rs. 4,000 crore givent to security agencies
The government told the Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Home Affairs has spent nearly Rs 4,000 crore in 2021-22 on payment of risk and hardship allowance to the central security agencies like the CRPF and the BSF.
All officials working in difficult or operational areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the Northeastern region are given the risk and hardship allowance.
“Out of the total budget of all Central Armed Police Forces and the Assam Rifles under the ‘salary’ head amounting to Rs 68,623.73 crore for 2021-22, an expenditure of Rs 3,944 crore has been incurred on payment of risk and hardship allowance (up to February 2022), which is 5.74 per cent of the budget under the ‘salary’ head,” Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said replying to a written question. -PTI
103 terror financing cases registered by NIA since 2008
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai told the Lower House that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered 103 cases of terror financing since it was established in 2008. The Minister said that the Agency arrested 786 accused, adding that charge sheets were filed against 865 accused in 92 cases.
The federal anti-terror agency, he said, secured conviction of 97 accused in 16 cases.- PTI
BJP MP Hema Malini flags delay in building air freight stations
Saying the the issue has been pending for a very long time, BJP MP from Mathura, Hema Malini drew the Civil Aviation Ministry’s attetion toward the “undue delay” in building and making greefiled air-freight stations operational.
“For easing the process and bringing efficiency in the air cargo industry, the Air-Freight Station Policy was introduced by Government of India in 2014,” she said, adding that some of the objectives was to enable an environment for promoting international air cargo operations and decongesting air-cargo terminals.
“Unfortunately, no air-freight station is operational in the country till date, except the one in Chennai, which was established before the policy was introduced in 2014,” Ms. Malini pointed out.
Congress MP flags slow pace of low-cost flying scheme UDAN
Congress MP from Kerala, V.K. Sreekandan, said that despite the fanfare with which the Centre’s low-cost flying scheme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) was launched five years ago, “Today, only one out of four routes under the said scheme have survived after completing the government’s subsidy period of three years.”
He pointed out that Of the 94 UDAN routes that have completed 3-year tenure till December last year, only 22 routes are in operation.
Substantial progress made in J&K- Centre
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that Jammu and Kashmir has improved substantially, adding that there has been a significant decline in terrorist incidents in the region.
In a written reply, Mr. Rai said that 25 out of 53 projects under Prime Minister’s Development package 2015 pertaining to 15 different ministries have been completed or substantially completed in the union territory.
His statements came in response to the question by Bahujan Samaj Party’s Danish Ali, “Is the situation in J-K still not normal?”
The Union Minister said, “the government has instituted a robust security and intelligence grid along with proactive operations against terrorists in J&K.” Mr. Rai, citing data, said, “The net infiltration has decreased from 143 in the year 2014 to only 31 in 2021 and the terrorist incidents also declined from 417 in the year 2018 to 229 in 2021.”
Meanwhile, the Minister added, “257 terrorists were killed in the year 2018 followed by 157 in 2019, 221 in 2020 and 180 in the year 2021.” Rai further said that the government has taken several steps to boost the development of J&K.- ANI
Congress Lok Sabha Member Suresh Kodikunnil in the chair.
Government ‘mute spectator’ when private airlines charge high prices during crisis situations- CPI(M) MP
Asking what the Civil Aviation Ministry was doing in the regulation of flight operations, CPI (M) MP from Kerala, AM Ariff said: “Even during a pandemic like COVID-19, and the very recent Ukraine war, this government remains a mute spectator when private airlines charge for tickets at their whims and fancies.”
“The day before staged the attack on Ukraine, the airlines were charging around 90,000 rupees to fly to India and that is why many of the Indian students were not able to come back even after the embassy issuing several advisories to leave Ukraine,” the MP pointed out
BJP MP calls for international expansion of Indian airlines
Addressing the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, BJP MP from Bihar, Rajiv Rudy, while appreciating the Minister’s efforts in the airlines sector, asked: “Why is one growth stunted in this sector?”
The MP said that domestic aviation’s growth India has increased from 12% to 36%, asking why international aviation was not growing?
“What is the lacunae, now we don’t even have to protect anyone, Air India is also being privitised, the market is also open,” Mr. Rudy said.
“We need to make such a strategy that India’s airlines spread across the world,” he said. “Air India is still in daily losses of Rs. 20 crore, it is our duty, if we have given Air India to a private player, that we make a strategy to create a competing environment in international aviation so that Air India also becomes profitable.”
TMC Lok Sabha member Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar in the chair.
Sizeable number of terrorists in Pak and PoK launchpads- Centre
Union minister Nityanand Rai said in the Lok Sabha that significant number of terrorists remain present in various launch pads in Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Minister added, however, that there is a decrease in the number of infiltration from across the border -- 34 in 2021 as compared to 51 in 2020, 138 in 2019 and 143 in 2018.
Pakistan and India have been observing a ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) for more than a year now.
When Mr. Rai was asked in the house, about whether Pakistan has built infrastructure along the LoC and whether terrorists have made infiltration attempts from the launch pads from across the border, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, said “information sought to be a sensitive operational matter concerning national security and cannot be divulged in the interest of national security.” -PTI
Govt will continue to provide fertilisers to farmers, Centre
When AIMIM member Imtiyaz Jaleel raised the issue of fertilisers, saying there is a decline in their domestic production this year with inadequate supply of ammonia and potassium from Russia and Ukraine, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Kailash Choudhary said the government will continue to make fertilisers available to farmers.
Mr. Choudhary said the government had made fertilisers available to farmers at a subsidised rate even when their prices had gon up to reach Rs 1,200 per bag.
“In future also, the Narendra Modi government will not let farmers face any form of injustice. When needed, fertilisers will be made available to farmers, no matter from where they have to be brought.” - PTI
No country in the world has a separate ministry for civil aviation except Indian and Bangladesh : TMC MP Mahua Moitra
“With a paltry budget expendiature of ₹ 1,240 crore (excluding expenses related to Air India), why do we need a separate ministry for civil aviation?,” the Krishnangar MP stated. She remarked that the MNREGA budget for her state is three times the amount. Ms. Moitra added that Air India formed 60 and 95% of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s budget.
Reasoning that since the ministry is no longer running any national airline, Ms Moitra proposed merging the civil aviation ministry with either shipping or road transport and create a holistic ministry.
Discussing what the Ministry actually handles, the TMC MP pointed out all actual airport and installation security is handled by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which reports to the Home Ministry and not the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Talking about the RCS Udan scheme introduced by the Ministry in 2016, to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel more affordable, Ms. Moitra said that in 2016 the Centre sanctioned 948 new air routes under served areas to boost connectivity but as of January 31, 2022, only four routes have been made operational (43%).
She further stated that government’s five-year budget for the RCS Udan scheme was from FY 2016-17 to 2021-22 was Rs. 4,500 crores, as of December 2021, “only Rs. 2,100 crores, just 46%” has been spent.
“So, 50% of your Rs. 1,200 crore is RCS, and that itself is a non-starter,” Ms. Moitra remarked.
On the number of airports, she said: “the government, with all due respect, should stop focussing on building so many new airports in a race for bragging rights and instead focus on increasing capacity and facilities at existing airports.”
Most major airports in the country, the Lok Sabha member said, are operating at 85-120% of handling capacity, which she described as a safety issue.
Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav quits his Lok Sabha seat. He has opted be an MLA in the U.P. Assembly. Mr Yadav was an MP from Azamgarh and won the Karhal seat in the recently-concluded state assembly elections.
Seperately, Senior Samajwadi party leader Azam Khan also resigned from Lok Sabha
InvIT would ensure poor people in India help build roads in India and in turn, acquire a 7% interest: Mr. Gadkari
He informed the house that investing in National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) bonds using InvITs await approval markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India. He said the return would accrued on a monthly basis to their bank accounts.
Mr Gadkari it holds a AAA ratings.
Mr Gadkari said that, within two years maximum, prices of electronic commercial and passenger vehicles would be similar to their petrol-run variants.
India’s road infrastructure would be as good as United States before 2024 concludes: Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari
Mr. Gadkari stated enhancing road infrastructure would spurt employment opportunities and tourism along with benefitting agriculture.
He apprised the house of several road connectivity projects being undertaken in Leh, Ladakh and Srinagar. “I assure you once arriving in Srinagar from Leh and Ladakh, and further commute directly to Mumbai. I will strive to ensure that before the year ends you, the route facilitates a 20 hour commute between Srinagar and Mumbai,” Mr. Gadkari stated.
He added the Ministry would ensure completion of connectivity projects to facilitate commute from Delhi to Jaipur, Haridwar and Dehradun in two hours, to Amristar and Mumbai in four and six hours respectively, by December this year. Mr. Gadkari told the house that it is working to facilitate commute from Chennai to Bengaluru in two hours.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and DMK MP T.R. Baalu raised the issue of the recent hike in fuel prices.
Mr Chowdhury said this was known that they had predicted correctly that prices would be hiked once elections to the five states conclude. Opposition MPs told the house they would stage a walkout in protest of the same.
“We will urge the Govt to roll back the price and against which will stage a walkout today to stage a protest,” Kolkata Uttar MP Sudip Bhandopadhyay told the speaker.
Will consider setting up food park in J&K whenever proposal is received: Minister for Food Processing Industries
On being asked about setting up Food Parks under the Pradhan Mantri Kisam Sampada Yojna by Anantnag MP Hussain Masoodi, Minister for Food Processing Industries Pashupati Kumar Paras that he would consider the proposal once a request is received.
No data on drop-outs among SC students: MoS Social Justice and Empowerment
Mavelikurra MP Suresh Kodikunnil asked the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to inform the house if it had any data about the increased dropout concerning dropouts among students of scheduled caste owing to harassment, abuse by teachers or delayed scholarship. In response, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment informed the house the Central Govt had not such data.
Day Five of the second part of the Budget Session commences.
List of Business
1. Further discussion and voting on:
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2022-23.
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation for 2022-23.
- Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for 2022-23.
2. Papers and Reports to be laid on the Table
3. Question Hour
Day 5 recap
In the Lok Sabha, discussions on Demands for Grants from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways were held and MPs also raised issues regarding the work of the Ministry.
During the Question Hour, the House had taken up matters pertaining to closure of educational institutions due to COVID-19, and the situation of medical students who were forced to leave Ukraine amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis
