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A bill to replace the Boilers Act, 1923 and to remove obsolete provisions to enhance ease of doing business was passed by Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The Boilers Bill, 2024, was moved for consideration and passing by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The Boilers Act, 1923 was comprehensively amended in 2007 by the Indian Boilers (Amendment) Act, 2007 wherein inspection and certification by independent third party inspecting authorities was introduced. However, on further examination of the existing Act, a need has been felt for review of the Act and also to incorporate the decriminalised provisions in consonance with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023. The existing Act has, accordingly, been reviewed wherein obsolete provisions have been omitted and certain substantive enabling provisions have been made for the rules and regulations which were not earlier provided. Certain new definitions have also been incorporated and few existing definitions have been amended so as to give more clarity to the provisions of the Bill. Officials said that the bill has been drafted as per modern drafting practices to give more clarity to the provisions. Similar provisions which are at different places in the Boilers Act,1923 have been grouped together in six chapters for easier reading and understanding of the Act. All the functions and powers of the Central Government, State Governments and Central Boilers Board have been enumerated in detail to avoid any confusion, they said. For Ease of Doing Business (EoDB), the Bill will benefit boiler users including those in MSME sector as provisions related to the decriminalisation have been incorporated in the bill. Out of the seven offences, to ensure safety of boilers and personnel dealing with boilers, in four major offences which may result in loss of life and property, criminal penalties are retained. For other offences, provision has been made for fiscal penalty. For all non-criminal offences 'fine' has been converted into 'penalty' to be levied through executive mechanism instead of courts as existed earlier. The bill seeks to enhance safety as specific provisions have been made in the Bill to ensure the safety of persons working inside a boiler and provides that repair of boiler is undertaken by qualified and competent persons. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha took up discussion on Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw moved the bill for consideration and passing. The Bill seeks to amend Railways Act of 1989 for improving operational efficiencies. Several members took part in the debate which stretched several hours. (ANI)
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