Assembly passes seven bills

Vijayawada:The state assembly passed seven major bills on the sixth day of the present session on Monday.

One bill enables those having more than two children to contest the elections. They had been barred from candidature through a previous legislation so as to discourage population growth.

Ruling alliance’s legislators hailed the decisions of chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and unanimously passed the six bills in the absence of opposition members.

The amendment to rules on election contest was introduced by municipal administration minister Ponguru Narayana four days ago. The bill, known as the AP Municipal Laws Amendment Bill 2024 was approved without any debate.

Narayana explained that the original restriction was put in place during the 1960s as part of family planning initiatives. At that time, both central and state governments introduced measures to promote family planning.

He said this was codified through amendments to the AP Municipalities Act of 1965 and the Municipal Corporations Act of 1955, which included Section 21B and Section 13B, respectively. These provisions, which were further reinforced by the AP Municipal Laws Amendment Bill of 1994, stipulated that only individuals with two or less children could contest the elections to urban local bodies.

However, over the past three decades, there emerged significant changes in the state’s demographic profile. These have prompted a review of these laws.

The fertility rate in AP has decreased significantly, from 2.6 children per woman in 2001 to 1.5 children per woman today. Additionally, the state has seen a decline in birth rates and a rise in the population of the elderly. Hence, a change in the law, he said.

The others Bills that were cleared by the Assembly on Monday include The Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2024; The Andhra Pradesh Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024; Dr. N.T.R. University of Health Sciences (Amendment) Bill; The Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Medical Practitioners Registration (Amendment) Bill; The Andhra Pradesh Medical Practitioners Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2024; The Andhra Pradesh Co-operative societies (Amendment) Bill, 2024.