Lok Sabha passes bill on bio-diversity, proceedings adjourned till 5 pm amid opposition protests

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 5 pm on Tuesday amid protests by opposition parties on the violence in Manipur. Amidst the din, the House passed the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on December 16, 2021, by Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The bill would amend the Biological Diversity Act, of 2002.

The Bill was moved to a joint committee on December 20, 2021, due to concerns that the amendments favoured industry and contradicted the spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The joint committee submitted its report in Parliament on August 2, 2022, with the recommendation that the Bill may be passed after the inclusion of their recommendations. Many MPs spoke on the advantages of the amendments to the bill and said its benefit includes aligning bio-diversity with the Companies Act. Yadav said the bill is significant as the world is facing triple crisis of climate change, desertification and ecological imbalance.

Earlier, as soon as the House met for the day, Opposition members sought to raise the Manipur issue and started shouting slogans. Speaker Om Birla asked the protesting members not to indulge in sloganeering and requested them to go back to their seats. While maintaining that there will be no solution to the issues by shouting slogans, Birla told them to allow the Question Hour as important matters are to be discussed.

As the protests continued, the proceedings were adjourned in around three minutes and now, the House will meet at 2 pm. Opposition parties have been protesting against the ethnic violence in Manipur and have been demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parliament proceedings have been disrupted over the Manipur issue since the Monsoon session started on July 20.