NEW DELHI, July 17:
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said the Lok Sabha will discuss the issue of Kashmir and the role of Governors in the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning tomorrow.
Talking to reporters after an all-party meet conveyed by her here, she said leaders from all the parties have given their assurances in peaceful and productive proceeding of the Lok Sabha. Government has also assured of the same for the smooth functioning of the House.
She said, “During the all-party meeting, the issue of current situation in Kashmir and the role of Governors in States were discussed. We have to decide how and when under which rule, we will discuss this. This issue will come up later.”
Earlier, she launched e-portal of Lok Sabha Members to make the Lower House a paperless institution which will save 1000 trees a year apart from saving time and money. The e-portal was launched during the all-party meet. She said the portal will save time, money and environment as it will save printing of 20,000 sheets.
She said, “We have been taking concrete steps to convert Lok Sabha into a Paperless Institution. In fact, we have already stopped printing and circulation of hardcopies of Unstarred Questions and Bulletin Part-II.”
Ms Mahajan informed that the number of copies in respect of various Committee Reports and Papers laid on the table of the House has been considerably reduced. The number of hard copies of Budget documents also has been reduced by 35 per cent. As a result of our continuous efforts, we have been able to reduce about 194 lakh papers (A-4 Size) consisting of nearly 40,000 reams (packets) of paper. The reduction in use of paper has resulted in direct saving of approximately Rs 80 lakh per year.
The e-portal has separate login and password for each MP. Members will be able to interact with each other and with various branches of the Secretariat through E-mail and SMS. One of the important features of e-portal is that Members will be able to e-file questions and notices online under various rules of the Rules of Procedure & Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha.
The portal also provides ready information regarding Bills, Committee meeting schedules, Agenda and Reports, verbatim debates and other Parliamentary information. A Members’ Reference Service Interface has also been developed wherein Members can send requests for reference material on various subjects and receive material electronically. The Portal is password protected and Members will get OTP (one time password) on his/her registered mobile for use of the e-portal.
On the occasion Ms Mahajan also released the seventh English edition of ‘Practice and Procedure of Parliament’ by M N Kaul and S L Shakdher. The Hindi Edition of the Book, which is currently under print, will also be published soon. Since its first publication, way back in 1968, this treatise has been revised and updated at regular intervals to make it apposite to time. Sixth version was published in August, 2009 and Fifth version was published in 2001.
The session will have 20 working days and will conclude on August 12. A total of 25 bills, including crucial Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, are expected to come up for passing and consideration during the session. (UNI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel