Dechen Dolkar
The winter session of the third Parliament will begin tomorrow and is scheduled to conclude on October 20.
During the 32nd session of the National Council (NC), the House will deliberate on and adopt the Property Tax (Amendment) Bill of Bhutan 2023, Biological Corridor Nine Bill of Bhutan 2023, BIMSTEC Charter, Agreement on the Movement of traffic-in-transit between Bangladesh and Bhutan, Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Anti-Corruption Commission’s annual report 2022-2023.
The National Assembly discussed and passed these Bills during the last summer session.
During the Joint Session of the Parliament, the Prime Minister will present his State of the Nation report. The Joint Session will also include deliberations on two performance audit reports, on cybersecurity preparedness and irrigation systems.
According to the tentative agenda of the National Assembly, the House will also discuss on Property Tax Bill (Amendment) 2023.
The House will also discuss the Annual Anti-Corruption Report of 2022-23, four Bills previously submitted by the NA to the NC which include the Biological Corridor of Bhutan 2023, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, BIMSTEC Charter, and Agreement on Movement of Traffic-in-Transit between Bangladesh and Bhutan.
According to the tentative agenda, the minister for finance will present the implementation status of the resolutions on reviewing the non-performing State-owned enterprises, to continue improving the incentive packages and other viable strategies to attract more tourists, considering the tourism industry’s ability to contribute enormously to the national exchequer.
The House will discuss reinstating credit access for those economic activities that do not generate adverse implications on the reserve, directing the National Statistics Bureau to re-examine the method of calculating inflation and working closely with the Royal Monetary Authority to avert possible violations of the Constitution and any other economic risks arising from the rapid depletion of foreign reserve.
The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport will also present the implementation status of the resolution, doing away with the requirement of structural drawings for the construction of one-storeyed reinforced cement concrete buildings in rural areas and providing mandatory drawings free of cost for the construction of multi-storeyed buildings.