In rare incident, Lok Sabha adjourns as minister Jitendra Singh asks chair to defer discussion on important bill citing Opposition’s absence

Tribune News Service

Vibha Sharma

New Delhi, July 21

In one of rare occasions, the Lok Sabha was on Thursday adjourned after union minister Jitendra Singh asked the Chair to defer the discussion on a key legislation, the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022, since opposition members were not present in the House.

“It is an important bill, I think the Opposition should be present to participate in the discussion,” Singh said following with BJD’s Bhartruhari Mahtab, who was in the Chair, announced the adjournment after taking the sense of the House.

After three days of continuous logjam, the Lok Sabha on Thursday functioned in pre-lunch hours with majority of opposition skipping proceedings.

The Bill to lay down a set of rules to regulate a range of activities on territories in Antarctica was introduced by Jitendra Singh in the Lok Sabha on April 1.

It seeks to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

It also seeks to protect the Antarctic environment and regulate activities in the region.

The Bill extends the jurisdiction of Indian courts to Antarctica, applying to Indians or foreign nationals who are part of an Indian expedition to Antarctica or are in the precincts of Indian research stations.

It prohibits a range of activities in the region such as waste disposal, mining, dredging, nuclear testing, and other activities that threaten the pristine environment of the continent and prescribes penal provisions in case of violations.

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