Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Act, 2020- Sumptuary Allowance reduced by thirty percent for a period of one year
EXTRAORDINARY
PART II
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
NEW DELHI, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
RAJYA SABHA
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The following Bills were introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 14th September, 2020:—
BILL NO. XXVIII OF 2020
A Bill further to amend the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-first Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. (1) This Act may be called the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Act, 2020.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 9th April, 2020.
2. In the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952, section 5 shall be numbered as sub-section (1) thereof, and after sub-section (1) as so numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:—
“(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the sumptuary allowance payable to each Minister under that sub-section shall be reduced by thirty percent for a period of one year commencing from the 1st April, 2020, to meet the exigencies arising out of Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic.”.
3. (1) The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act.
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952 (58 of 1952) is an Act to provide for salaries and allowances of Ministers.
2. India, as the rest of the world, is grappling with Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic which has severe health and economic ramifications for the people of the country. Immediate and expeditious relief as well as emergency assistance measures are being taken to prevent and contain the spread of said pandemic. In order to manage and control such situation, it has become necessary to raise resources from different sources, including by reduction in the sumptuary allowances of Ministers.
3. To achieve the said objective, certain amendment is required to be made in the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952. As the Parliament was not in session and there was immediate need for legislation, the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 (Ord. 4 of 2020) was promulgated on the 9th April, 2020 under clause (1) of article 123 of the Constitution.
4. Accordingly, the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is being introduced in Parliament to replace the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Bill propose to amend section 5 of the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers Act, 1952 so as to reduce the sumptuary allowance payable to each Minister by thirty per cent. for a period of one year commencing from the 1st April, 2020.
5. The Bill seeks to replace the aforesaid Ordinance.
AMIT SHAH.
COMMENTS