25 government bills pending in Rajya Sabha

As many as 25 government bills, including the one dating back to 1992 pertaining to adopting a two-child norm for panchayat polls, are pending in the Rajya Sabha. Among the pending bills are the Delhi Rent (Amendment) Bill, 1997 that seeks to regulate rent, repairs of rented premises and eviction of tenants in the national capital, and one on amending the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act to relax certain conditions for appointment of regulators, according to a bulletin by Rajya Sabha.

Normally, bills introduced in the Lok Sabha lapse with the dissolution of the House. However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government. The Constitution (79th Amendment) Bill 1992 dealing with the adoption of two-child norm for panchayat polls is the oldest draft legislation pending in the Upper House of Parliament.

”The Constitution (79th Amendment Bill, 1992) has been pending in the Parliament due to lack of consensus among political parties in favour of the Bill,” the government told the Lok Sabha in 2005 in reply to a written question by Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Among other bills pending are provisions of the Municipalities (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Bill, 2001; The Seeds Bill, 2004; The Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy Pharmacy Bill, 2005; The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2008; The Mines (Amendment) Bill, 2011; and The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2011.

The pending bills also include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012; The Building and Other Construction Workers Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013; The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2013; The Rajasthan Legislative Council Bill, 2013; The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013; and The Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013. Also among the pending draft legislations are The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013, The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill, 2014, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019 related to Assam; and The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Among the pending bills are The Registration of Marriage of Non Resident Indian Bill, 2019; The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019; and The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020.

The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, The Post Office Bill, 2023 and the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 were introduced by the government in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament.