3 bills on Universities Property Tax Board lapse in LC

In an exceedingly vital development, the Legislative Council has formally confirmed that 3 major bills—one bearing on fixing of 3 Universities within the State and 2 for charging Property Tax and institution of a Property Board have lapsed within the higher House however 2 of them have come once more from the Assembly and were sent to the Joint choose Committee.

Top official sources confirmed that a big bill, that had triggered huge protests within the Assembly from each ruling National Conference and opposition, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), that sought to determine 3 Universities within the State, has lapsed.

"The bill has lapsed. It is dead. it's no a lot of alive. It’s gone now’’, sources said, adding if the govt. or the personal members of the Assembly wished to pass the bill, they might ought to return up once more with the legislation from the Lower House.

The bill, that has lapsed, proposed to line up 3 Universities within the State as well as Trans World Muslim University sponsored by Jamiat-e-Alia Hadees, Sheikh ul Alam University, sponsored by another sect of Muslims and Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa University.

The Legislative Assembly had passed the bill in its autumn session in Srinagar on October nine, 2010. National Conference MLA from Kupwara, Saifullah Mir was mover of the bills.

The Legislative Council had taken up the bills on October twelve, 2010. the bulk within the higher House as well as Congress members, who were coalition partner in National Conference headed Government, didn’t endorse the bill and wished them to be spoken the Joint choose Committee.

The House had by a majority read agreed to send the bills to the JSC.

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According to sources, the then Presiding Officer of the Legislative Council (former Deputy Chairman Arvinder Singh Micky), had written to Legislative Assembly Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone seeking names of MLAs for induction within the JSC. The Speaker had given 2 names.

However, the Joint choose Committee wasn't constituted on the bill.

Sources said new Legislative Council Chairman, Amrit Malhotra like Arvinder Singh Micky had refused to nominate the JSC. below rules, the bills get lapsed if the Legislative Council didn’t pass it among a specified timeframe when the approval of Lower House.

"The time amount has lapsed and therefore was the fate of bills, that had generated plenty of warmth within the Legislative Assembly throughout budget session particularly on April three when ruling National Conference and opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had unanimously created huge uproar over the bill’’, sources said.

Though the Speaker had on April three maintained that the bill was alive, the terribly next day he said he would take up the problem with the Legislative Council Chairman.

Highly placed sources within the Legislative Council Secretariat confirmed that the bill was dead and not alive. They said the Legislative Assembly had to pass the bill once more if the problem of the colleges was to be revived. However, the matter was that the Congress, the most coalition partner within the Government, was currently critical the bill though it had supported it in October 2010.

Congress sources admitted that their Legislative Assembly members had passed the bill in 2010 as "out of sight’’. however it had been within the Legislative Council that one in every of the MLC objected to it and got it blocked by proposing that the bill ought to be spoken the JSC. it had been then allowed to die with the assistance of the Presiding Officers of the higher House, who refused to nominate members to the JSC.

According to sources, 2 bills proposing levy of property tax on the folks and fixing of Property Tax Board, that were a part of reforms in Housing and concrete Development sector to secure Central grants below Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), that were approved by the Assembly throughout 2011 budget session, have additionally lapsed.

These bills additionally lapsed because the Presiding Officers didn’t originated the JSC fearing that imposition of property tax on the folks would mar electoral prospectus of the Congress in future.

However, because the grants below JNNURM weren't being released by the Centre, the Housing and concrete Development Department realized that the bills gone along the Assembly have lapsed and that they got it approved once more from the Lower House on last day of budget session on April four.

But the higher House once more stalled the bills the exact same day once they came up within the Council for approval. The House had approved that the bills ought to be sent to the JSC.

This time, however, the Legislative Council has timely constituted the JSC creating Deputy Chief Minister, Tara Chand, Incharge Housing and concrete Development Department to whose Ministry the bills pertained, as chairman of the JSC.

Worthwhile to say here that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said on floor of the Lower House simply few days before the property tax and Property Board bills were passed for the second time that there was no alternative possibility however to pass these bills and take up alternative reforms in lieu of JNNURM grants running in to concerning Rs 700 crores, that are stalled by the Centre within the absence of requisite reforms.