Review and Notify Rules All Passed Bills, Ministries Told Before Monsoon Session

Ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament from next week, Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba has asked all ministries to scrupulously ensure all bills passed during the session see respective subordinate legislations (rules) notified preferably within the next two months to ensure the purpose for which these laws are enacted is not defeated.

The Centre has listed 23 bills to be tabled in the Lok Sabha during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, as per a Moneycontrol report. Of these, six bills have already been introduced while 17 will be new, according to the tentative list of government legislative and financial business. The legislations to be introduced in Lok Sabha include three bills to replace existing ordinances. The 17 new bills include the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2021, among others.

Gauba has also asked for a complete review of earlier passed laws which have not seen corresponding rules/regulations being notified so far. “I would request you to immediately review all cases of pending subordinate legislations in your Ministry/Department and take necessary action for their early notification,” Gauba has written to all Secretaries on July 6.

News18 has reviewed the letter. “Further, in the context of new legislations proposed to be introduced in the forthcoming Monsoon session of Parliament on July 19, the course of action may be scrupulously followed,” Gauba has further written, requesting personal attention of all Secretaries to be accorded to this.

Among the prominent Acts passed by Parliament which are still awaiting notification of their rules (and hence the law has not been implemented so far) is the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was enacted in December, 2019. The Home Ministry sought yet another extension last month from a Parliamentary Committee to enact the rules regarding CAA, after the Ministry was earlier given deadlines till April 9, 2021 and subsequently till July 9.

The Cabinet Secretary said that in some cases, ministries commence the process of drafting of rules well after the enactment of the relevant law, taking an inordinately long time before finally notifying them. “Needless to say, delays in notifying subordinate rules/regulations adversely affect timely implementation of Acts and defeat the purpose for which these were legislated,” the letter says. Gauba said the process for notifying such rules/regulations should be completed at the earliest, “preferably within two months” of the enactment of the law.

The letter advises ministries and departments to formulate action plans with clear timelines to complete the exercise of notification of pending rules and monitoring to ensure Acts are fully brought into force.

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