RS passes Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill

New Delhi, August 2 (IANS): The proceedings of the Rajya Sabha was on Wednesday adjourned after the House passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023.

The House was adjourned till Thursday morning 11 a.m. after the House passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, which seeks to promote ease of business by decriminalising minor offences, amending 183 provisions in 42 acts.

The Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on July 27 of the current Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal while discussing the Bill in Rajya Sabha said that it will promote the ease of doing business by decriminalising a number of provisions.

Earlier, the Rajya Sbaha also passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023.

The Bills were passed smoothly as the Opposition party MPs of the INDIA bloc had staged a walked out from the Rajya Sabha demanding a statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Manipur violence.

Earlier in the day, the 31 member delegation of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum. The opposition MPs discussed the Manipur issue.

Addressing media after the meeting, LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that the INDIA delegation’s main demand, that they conveyed to the President, was for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit violence-hit Manipur.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that the opposition has urged the President to nominate two Manipuri women from different communities to the Rajya Sabha.