Rajya Sabha logs productivity of just 8pc during interim Budget session

New Delhi, Feb 13 : The interim Budget session 2019 was a successful session with wide participation of all political parties in discussions on various issues of national importance, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, said on Wednesday.

Giving the details for the tenure of 16th Lok Sabha, Tomar said Lok Sabha had 331 sittings in which 205 bills were passed and the productivity was 85 per cent. Rajya Sabha had 329 sitting in which 154 bills were passed and the productivity was 68 per cent.

Tomar said the Interim Budget Session started on January 31 and was adjourned sine die on Wednesday. It provided 10 sittings over 14 days. However, the productivity of Lok Sabha was 89 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha was about 8 per cent.

The session was mainly devoted to the transaction of financial business. However, a total of nine bills (three in Lok Sabha and six in Rajya Sabha) were introduced. Five bills were passed by Lok Sabha and five by Rajya Sabha. Four bills were passed by both the Houses.

Among those present during Tomar's briefing were Vijay Goel, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Statistics and Programme Implementation, and Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.