Government proposes to strike down several “irrelevant” laws

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions

20-February-2016 17:25 IST

Government proposes to strike down several “irrelevant” laws: Dr Jitendra Singh

Aims to achieve the goal of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’

Addressing a meeting of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to review the action plan for the year 2016, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here today that Government plans to strike down “irrelevant” laws by repealing or revoking more than thousand existing ones as a part of its mission to achieve the goal of minimum government and maximum governance.

Reiterating the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call to do away with avoidable laws and rules, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the Government will abolish several of the existing laws which have ceased to be relevant in the present date and time. Disclosing that as many as 1053 laws are pending for Parliament approval to be repealed, Dr Jitendra Singh said about 649 laws have been sent and circulated among Ministries and States for comments and the process of repealing or revoking them will be carried forward after obtaining the comments of the concerned Ministries and Departments.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that the DoPT proposes to reduce the number of tribunals from 36 to 17 and at the same time, reduce or restructure as many as 685 autonomous bodies/institutions during the year 2016. In the times to come, the DoPT will also chalk out a possible plan for exit of Government sectors from hospitals, air services etc and a sunset clause will also be attached to every new scheme.

In a bid to ensure ease of governance, Dr Jitendra Singh said that a mechanism will be worked out wherein the information already available on the official websites or official portals is not to be asked for through RTIs etc, in order to reduce the pendency and workload accruing from such queries. While the work on simplified one-page form and self-attestation of certificates has already begun, the DoPT is also working out the feasibility of issuing the Residence/Domicile certificates as well as SCs/STs/OBCs certificate at primary age to every child by class 5, he added.

Shri Sanjay Kothari, Secretary DoPT and senior officers of the Department were present at the meeting.