The Haryana assembly on Monday passed six more Bills, including the Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Amendment Bill, 2024, to provide for appointment of a high court judge as member and chairman of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission. The amendment Bill also proposed to remove the upper cap of 65 years for the chairman and members of the Commission.
Speaking on the Bill, Congress MLAs Ashok Arora and Bharat Bhushan Batra said that elections to constitute the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee should be conducted without any delay by the state government. “The state government has repeatedly amended the Act for constituting the ad hoc committee on more than one occasion if the elected committee to manage the Haryana gurdwaras could not be constituted. This cannot go on,” Batra said.
Congress MLA from Ratia, Jarnail Singh said only elected persons should manage the affairs of Sikh shrines in Haryana and not the ad hoc committee.
Former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said that chief minister Nayab Saini should give an undertaking on the floor of the House that elections for constituting the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee will be held soon. Saini then assured the House that elections will be held soon after electoral rolls are finalised.
As per the Act, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission is a quasi-judicial authority, whose decisions are final. The dispute relating to the gurdwara property, its funds and any other disputes between the gurdwara committee, executive board or any other institutions, are to be adjudicated upon by the Commission. “Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate that a judge of high court should also be considered for appointment as a member and chairman of the Commission. Further, in order to ensure effective functioning of the Commission, the upper cap of 65 years of age, as provided in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) of Section-46, should be removed,” said the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill.
{{/usCountry}}As per the Act, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission is a quasi-judicial authority, whose decisions are final. The dispute relating to the gurdwara property, its funds and any other disputes between the gurdwara committee, executive board or any other institutions, are to be adjudicated upon by the Commission. “Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate that a judge of high court should also be considered for appointment as a member and chairman of the Commission. Further, in order to ensure effective functioning of the Commission, the upper cap of 65 years of age, as provided in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) of Section-46, should be removed,” said the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill.
{{/usCountry}}The assembly passed three Bills to amend the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, and the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, for providing reservation to the persons belonging to backward classes (B category) in panchayati raj institutions and municipal bodies.
The reservation to persons of backward classes (B category) is being provided as per the recommendations of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission. This will enable reservation of seats for members of BC (B category) for the elected posts of panch, sarpanch, panchayat samiti members, zila parishad members and municipal bodies.
The assembly also passed a Bill to amend the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. As per the statement of objects and reasons, the law was enacted in 1975. Subsequently, the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, was enacted and the rules of this Act were framed in 2017. Section 2(q) and 2 (zf) of RERA Act, 2016, defined completion certificate and the occupation certificate respectively and considered to be at parity for the purpose of a completed project. “Accordingly, it has been felt necessary to define occupation certificate to create an enabling provision for creation of an equivalence between occupation certificate and completion certificate. Similarly, the definition of part completion certificate and completion certificate for colonies is not provided in Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. Thus, it is also now proposed to be inserted. Further, in order to create parity between the two legislation and to expedite the grant of completion certificate for colonies, which have become inhabited long back, a need has been felt to consider grant of overall completion certificate to such projects where individual occupation certificate for all constituent building blocks have been received in case of other than plotted colonies and also where part completion certificate for the complete area has been received in case of plotted colonies,” the statement said.
The assembly passed the Haryana Village Common Lands (Regulation) amendment Bill, 2024, to exclude shamlat deh land allotted on lease basis for 20 years under the Haryana Utilisation of Lands Act, 1949, and which have been in continuous cultivating possession of the original lessee, transferee or his legal heir from the ambit of shamlat deh.