A demand for a special legislation to ensure time-bound disposal of litigations relating to development projects was made in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday to ensure such projects are not kept hanging for long. Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, D P Vats of the BJP said development projects particularly rail and road projects get delayed due to court cases. A matter concerning a road project has been pending in court for 45 years, he said. “I urge the government to bring special legislation for time-bound disposal of litigations related to developmental projects,” he said. Mamta Mohanta of the BJD raised the demand of including the Kudmi-Mahato caste in the ST list. She said Kudmi was classified as a notified tribe by the British Raj but they were subsequently excluded from the ST list. Their economic condition is similar to STs and are a dominant caste in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal, she said, adding the Kudmi-Mahato caste has been fighting for ST status for decades and the government should accord them their rightful status. Nazir Ahmed Laway (J&K-PDP) sought regularisation of contract and daily wagers in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Subhash Chandra Singh (BJD) demanded a hike in the remuneration paid to Anganwadi and Asha centre workers. The remuneration paid to Anganwadi workers should be raised from Rs 4,500 to Rs 15,000 and that those of Asha workers to Rs 10,000 from Rs 2,500 a month. Also, a package on lines of the one announced by the Odisha government of giving Rs 7,500 per month pension to dependents of any Anganwadi worker dying due to COVID-19, should be given by the central government, he said. K C Ramamurthy of the BJP sought special financial assistance for Karnataka for carrying out flood relief work. He said floods in the state have caused enormous damage to crops and infrastructure, and very heavy loss of lives and properties. He said the state has suffered an estimated loss of Rs 9,440 crore in this season itself. In special mentions, Sonal Mansingh (Nominated) demanded assistance to freelance artists suffering due to the COVID pandemic and subsequent lockdown. Satish Chandra Dubey of the BJP sought relaxation in age and concession in fee for economically backward sections in the general category. Kailash Soni (BJP) said the conditions laid down under the Prime Minister Awaas Yojana (PMAY) should be relaxed to help people affected by floods. Anil Desai (Shiv Sena) demanded that the name of Bombay High Court should be changed to Mumbai High Court.
