State Assemblies met on average 20 days in 2024; Odisha, Kerala, WB, K’taka lead in sittings: Report
New Delhi: State Assemblies across India convened for an average of just 20 days and spent 100 hours in sessions in 2024, according to a report by PRS Legislative Research.
The report, as cited by Deccan Herald on Friday, highlighted that some states had significantly more sittings than others. Odisha led the list with 42 sittings, followed by Kerala with 37 and West Bengal with 36 sittings. Karnataka, which has a target of 60 compulsory sittings per year, managed 29 sittings in 2024.
In contrast, Uttar Pradesh, despite having a mandate of 90 sittings a year, and Madhya Pradesh only held 16 sittings each. Manipur saw 14 sittings, while Jammu and Kashmir had the least at five sittings.
The Constitution requires legislatures to meet at least once every six months, eleven states met this obligation through short sessions lasting only one or two days. The report noted that state assemblies have met for fewer than 30 days annually since 2017, with 2020 seeing a drastic dip to just 16 sittings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number has since remained close to 20 days each year.
The years 2021 and 2022 saw 21 sittings each while 2023 saw 22 sittings and last year witnessed a slump to 20, added the report.
In 2024, assemblies averaged 100 hours of sitting time, with Kerala topping the list at 228 hours, followed by Odisha with 193 hours. Other states with notable sitting hours included Maharashtra and Rajasthan (187 hours each), Goa (172 hours), Chhattisgarh (155 hours), and Telangana (149 hours). Karnataka’s Assembly had 145 hours of sittings.
Regarding legislative activity, 2024 saw a total of over 500 bills passed across the country. Karnataka led in bill passage with 49 bills, followed by Tamil Nadu (45), Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra (32 each). However, some states had minimal legislative activity, with Delhi passing just one bill and Rajasthan passing only two.
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Centre rejects claims of diluting Aravalli protections, says 90% of range will remain safeguarded
New Delhi: Union Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Minister Bhupendra Yadav refuted claims that the Centre had weakened safeguards for the Aravalli hills, saying that the government is still steadfast in its commitment to protecting the delicate ecosystem and that almost 90% of the Aravalli landscape will remain protected.
Responding to growing criticism over a revised definition of the Aravalli range, Yadav said on Sunday misinformation was being spread about the changes, as reported by Hindustan Times. He clarified that the Aravalli system extends across four states- Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat and has been under judicial scrutiny for decades, with a related petition pending before the courts since 1985.
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Addressing concerns around the “100-metre” criterion, the minister said it was being widely misunderstood. He explained that the figure does not refer to the top 100 metres of a hill, but to the entire vertical spread of the hill from top to bottom. He added that gaps between two hill ranges would also be treated as part of the Aravalli system. With this interpretation, he said, nearly 90 per cent of the region would fall within the protected zone.
Yadav emphasised that mining activities would remain under strict regulation. He said the total Aravalli area spans around 1.47 lakh square kilometres, of which only about 217 square kilometres, roughly two per cent, has been identified as eligible for mining. Even within this limited area, he noted, the Supreme Court has directed that a sustainable mining management plan be prepared, following which clearance from the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education would be mandatory before any activity could begin.
The minister further underlined that mining is entirely prohibited in the Delhi portion of the Aravallis and that all existing protected areas and forest reserves in the capital would remain unchanged. He also referred to the Centre’s Green Aravalli programme, which has been underway for the past two years, and said the government was being portrayed unfairly through what he described as a false narrative.
Opposition parties like the Congress and the Samajwadi Party expressed concern over the potential ecological impact of the revised definition. Critics have warned that any kind of weakened protection could have long-term consequences for biodiversity, air quality and climate resilience in north India.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X, linked the survival of the Aravalli range directly to the future of Delhi and the National Capital Region, calling the hills a natural shield against pollution and environmental degradation. He warned that continued damage to the range would worsen air quality, biodiversity loss and extreme temperatures, with severe consequences for public health, particularly for children, the elderly and the sick.
