Himachal Pradesh Announces Proposal to Repeal 13 Laws
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Shimla, Sept 20 – Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has introduced the Himachal Pradesh Repeal Bill 2023 in the assembly, aiming to repeal 13 state laws, including three dating back to the British era. Other laws slated for repeal were enacted during the tenures of Dr. Y.S. Parmar, Ram Lal Thakur, Veer Bhadra Singh, and Prem Kumar Dhumal.
The bill presented by CM Sukhu is anticipated to be passed during this monsoon session itself. It is designed to eliminate outdated and redundant laws that are no longer applicable in the current context.
The laws set for repeal are as follows:
1. Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882
2. Agriculturists’ Relief Act, 1884
3. Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887
4. Mandi Laghu Van Upaj Dohan and Niyantran Adhiniyam, 1997
5. Chamba Laghu Van Upaj Dohan and Niyantran Adhiniyam, 2003
6. Punjab Tobacco Vendors License Abolition Act, 1953
7. Himachal Pradesh Personal Forests Act, 1954
8. Punjab Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1965
9. Punjab Finance, Trade, Business, Employment, and Regulation Taxation (Himachal Pradesh Repeal) Act, 1968
10. Himachal Pradesh Forest Preservation and Timber Transit Rules Act, 1984
11. Himachal Pradesh Abolition of Subordinate Debts (Financial Establishments) Act, 1999
12. Himachal Pradesh Private Medical Council Act, 2003
13. Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal (Transfer of Certain and Pending Cases and Applications) Act, 2008
CM Sukhu emphasized that these laws were no longer relevant and were merely adding to bureaucratic complexity. He accused the previous government of allowing corruption to flourish through the Himirpur Commission. He claimed that during his government’s tenure, action was taken against officials involved in paper leaks and several arrests were made.
However, opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur criticized the current government for its inaction regarding recruitment exams, pointing out that the government had failed to announce results even after nine months. He argued that while the government had swiftly acted during the paper leak controversy, it had not been able to release results for the exams conducted under its own watch, causing distress among the youth of the state.
