A quick perusal of the list of government business for this Winter Session of Parliament promises a stormy time ahead for the government. Of the 50 Bills listed for introduction or consideration and passing several Bills, like the Land Acquisition Bill and the MMRD Bill have not yet had any political consensus built around it, with some key allies of the government like the Trinamool Congress opposing them. The Land Acquisition Bill has become a political imperative for the ruling party after several agitations by farmers for just recompense to land acquired for large industrial projects have begun to hurt it politically. However, the Trinamool Congress has several objections to the current form of the Bill including changing the proportion in which land is to be acquired by both the government and private parties.
The MMDR Bill seeks to share profits in mines and mining activity with tribal and ot her oustees to upto 26%. This is again controversial among mining companies and even some civil rights groups which feel that tribals should not be made to carry the liabilities of the companies, and should be given a range of options to choose in terms of recompense.
The Bill that seeks to replace the over five decades old Companies Act is also listed for clearing, after its vetting by the parliamentary standing committee. The idea is to introduce a new regime for responsbile self regulation of comapnies along with greater disclosures in line with changes in the way business is conducted globally. The proposed law envisages supplanting government?s control over internal corporate decisions with shareholder control. Also, new structures like one person company are proposed and transition from one form to another is to be made easier.
The Enemy Property Bill, which saw acrimonious scenes in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, will be withdrawn after a decision to do so by the Union Cabinet.
