Parliament Watch: Blockage of Delhi borders by farmers, arrests in J&K, pollution caused by Central Vista project and more

Parliament Watch tracks the answers to important Parliamentary Questions raised during the latest session..Here is an overview of some important Parliamentary Questions which were raised in Rajya Sabha by Members of Parliament (MPs) during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament (253rd Session of 2021)..Pendency of cases in Supreme Court and High Courts.A question was proposed by Dr. Kirodi Lal Meena on the number of cases pending in the Supreme Court and various High Courts, for less than five years. more than five years, less than ten years, and more than ten years..Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed the House that 65,331 cases including 52,391 Civil cases and 12,940 Criminal cases are pending in the Supreme Court of India as of February 5, 2021. .Further, during the COVID-19 pandemic, district courts heard 45,73,159 cases while the High Courts heard 20,60,318 cases (totalling 66.33 lakhs) till December 31, 2020 using video conferencing . The Supreme Court had 52,353 hearings since the lockdown period up to January 31, 2021..Contempt proceedings against cartoonists, comedians and other artists.Keeping in view recent contempt cases initiated against artists, a question was posed by Dr Amee Yajnik and Phulo Devi on whether the government has sent any communication to the Attorney General of India giving consent for contempt proceedings against cartoonists, comedians and other artists. The total number of cases wherein the AG gave his consent was also asked for..In reply, Ravi Shankar Prasad has stated that the government has no power to issue such communication as the power lies with the Attorney General under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. Further, it has been informed that the government has “no information or particulars regarding the total number of contempt proceedings assented to by the previous Attorneys General from 2005 to June 2017. Shri K.K. Venugopal was appointed as Attorney General for India on 01 July, 2017.”.Moreover, in 2020, the Attorney General has granted consent under Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 only for the following cases out of a total of 41 requests received during the year, the government informed:In respect of tweets dated November 11, 2020 by Kunal Kamra, consent has been granted on November 12, 2020.In respect of tweet dated November 18, 2020 by Kunal Kamra, consent has been granted on November 18, 2020.In respect of tweets dated November 11, 2020 by Rachita Taneja, consent has been granted on December 1, 2020..[Breaking] Attorney General KK Venugopal gives consent to initiate contempt of court proceedings against Kunal Kamra.Disposal of cases in Lok Adalats.A question was raised by Prashanta Nanda regarding the disposal of cases in Lok Adalats and effective steps taken to improve the disposal rate. .The Law Minister replied that in 2020, 1,11,51,174 cases were taken up by National Lok Adalats, out of which 25,48,368 cases were disposed of. In the State Lok Adalats, 27, 315 benches were constituted between April 2020 to December 2020. These benches took up 7,92,725 cases, disposing of 4,36,913 cases..Further, on the steps taken to improve the disposal rate, it was informed that "from June, 2020, E-Lok Adalats have also been introduced to make the system more efficient and fast to improve the disposal rate. E-Lok Adalats have been conceptualized in a way that it facilitates party interaction and exchange of information, allowing an opportunity to effectively resolve a dispute. E-Lok Adalats have been organized in 24 States wherein 8 lakh cases were taken up and 4.07 lakh cases disposed of.".Reservation for women in Parliament.Dr. Amar Patnaik raised a question on the issue of reservation for women in Parliament. The government informed that at present, there is no such proposal. However, it was added that “gender justice is an important commitment of the Government." ."The issue involved needs careful consideration on the basis of the consensus among all political parties before a Bill for amendment in the Constitution is brought before Parliament", the reply further reads. .Resumption of physical hearings in the High Courts.On the issue of physical hearings at various High Courts, a question was raised by Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar on “whether Government has received any representation regarding starting of physical hearing in all High Courts including the High Court of Andhra Pradesh or not?”.It was informed by Ravi Shankar Prasad that as of January 28, the following courts are functioning physically/virtually:.On pollution due to Central Vista Project.A set of questions were raiied by Phulo Devi regarding the construction of the Central Vista Project and the pollution caused by the process. The questions posed include:.Whether the Ministry has considered the impact of the Central Vista Redevelopment project on the air pollution levels;The details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;Whether the Government is aware that nearly 416 sq. km of dense forest cover will be needed to offset the carbon footprint of the project; andThe steps being taken to address the same and if not, whether the Ministry has alternate estimates of the forest cover needed to offset the carbon footprint?.Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Babul Supriyo informed the House that the concerned Ministry had granted the environment clearance for the project and that it mandates the compliance of various conditions including for carrying out dust mitigation measures, maintaining ambient air quality standards at the site, implementation of Traffic Management Plan etc..[BREAKING] Supreme Court upholds Central Vista redevelopment by 2:1 majority; Justice Sanjiv Khanna dissents on change of land use.It was clarified that the project proposals do not involve diversion of forest land. "The project for expansion and renovation of existing Parliament Building envisages implementation of energy conservation measure to reduce carbon footprint. Compensatory plantation against tree cutting as per Delhi Tree Preservation Act are prescribed along-with various energy conservation measures with respect to offset the carbon foot print", the reply further reads. .Non-compliance of environmental clearance.Vandana Chavan sought details of projects that have violated environmental clearance norms and details of action taken against them during the last five years..The reply contains a list of State-wise projects where non-compliance of environmental clearance (EC) conditions have been reported during last five years:.As far as action taken against violators, the Minister said that a series of actions under para 10 of the EIA Notification, 2006 and various sections of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 have been taken to monitor and enforce strict adherence to EC norms..Fast Track Courts for pending rape and POCSO cases.Sushil Kumar Modi asked, “whether it is a fact that more than 1.7 lakh rape and POCSO cases are pending in different courts for years and whether Government propose to dispose off these cases by setting Fast Track Courts in large numbers?” Minister of Women and Child Development Smiti Irani, while replying to the query, informed that in 2019, 1,45,632 - Rape cases and 1,33,068 POCSO cases were pending before the various courts..Further, it was informed that the government is implementing a scheme for setting up of 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts, for expeditious trial and disposal of cases related to rape and the POCSO Act. The Department of Justice has intimated that there are 609 FTSCs functional (including 331 exclusive POCSO courts) up to December 2020, as per inputs received from the High Courts..Minimum age for marriage.A question was raised as to whether the government is proposing to “raise the the minimum marriage age of women from the current 18 years to 21 years”..Minister Smriti Irani replied that a Task Force had been constituted to examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health, medical well-being and nutritional status of mother and neonate/ infant/ child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter, key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), Child Sex Ratio (CSR) etc. and any other relevant points pertaining to health and nutrition in this context. The Task Force has since submitted its Report..House arrest of various activists and public figures in Jammu & Kashmir.Priyanka Chaturvedi and Ripun Bora asked questions regarding the house arrest and detention of various activists and public figures in Kashmir. .Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy, replied that since August 1, 2019, 613 persons including separatists, overground workers, stone pelters etc. were detained at various points of time. .Out of these, based on regular review of the ground situation, 430 persons have been released till date. Furthermore, it was also highlighted that at present “The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has further reported that no person is under house arrest in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.”.Regarding detention of persons under national security laws, a question was raised by Syed Nasir Hussain on the number of detainees arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). .It was informed by the Home Ministry that the latest published report on the same is for the year 2019. The reply further reads:"As per published report of the year 2019, total number of persons arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2019 is 1,948. Further, the total number of the persons arrested and the persons convicted in the years from 2016 to 2019 under the UAPA in the country are 5,922 and 132 respectively.”.Blockage of Delhi borders by protesting farmers.While replying to a question asked by Anil Desai, the government said that the Delhi Police has “informed that Gazipur, Chilla, Tikri and Singhu borders of National Capital are blocked by agitating farmers and it is inconvenient to the residents of Delhi and neighbouring States.”.Further, it was also expressed by the Ministry of Home Affairs that “In any agitation, there is financial loss incurred by people and Governments.”.[Farmers Protests] Upload FIRs online so that representatives of accused don't have to run from pillar to post for obtaining copy: Delhi Court