New Delhi, Aug 7 (IANS): The Rajya Sabha passed 31 bills in the budget session that ended on Wednesday as against 33 bills during the last five sessions, clocking 105 per cent productivity.
Among the key bills passed include the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 that proposed to bifurcate the state into two Union Territories and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 that criminalized the practice of Triple Talaq.
The Upper House also adopted a resolution to nullify Article 370 of the Constitution that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
In his concluding remarks before adjourning the House sine die, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said that during the last five sessions, the productivity of the House ranged from a low of 7.44 per cent to maximum of 65.60 per cent.
He said that the change was gratifying with the House reporting 100 per cent or more productivity for the first time in the last five years.
During this session, the Rajya Sabha passed 31 bills as against 36 by the Lok Sabha. The 31 bills were passed in 35 sittings, showing its best performance in the last 17 years --accounting for 52 sessions.
In the 249th session, no business was allowed to be transacted for a full two-and-a-half days besides occasional disruptions. A total of 19 hours and 12 minutes of precious time of the House was lost on this count.
However, the House sat beyond the scheduled time on 19 days and gained around 28 hours.
Naidu said the bills passed during this session had been very significant in terms of their impact on the social and economic landscape of the country.
"Passing of the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, widely known as the Triple Talaq bill, is the most far reaching social reform legislation in the last over 60 years since the passage of Hindu Code Bills," he said.
"Though there were some differing perspectives on some provisions of this Bill, the broad spirit of unity with which this House cleared this Bill is praiseworthy and I compliment all sections of the House."
The Chairman noted that the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill was another historic legislation.
"Both these legislations seek to address legacy issues. National security eco-system has also been further strengthened with the passage of related Bills during this session," Naidu said.