NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, MAR 3
The Gujarat Assembly on Wednesday passed three bills, including one which permits the state government to borrow more because of the coronavirus pandemic, with opposition Congress also voting for them.
All three bills were thus passed unanimously.
The Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University Act of 2007 seeks to change the name of a private university.
As the varsity, situated near Gandhinagar city, has “evolved and expanded its programs beyond petroleum sector”, the bill proposed to rename it as `Pandit Deendayal Energy University”.
The second bill sought to amend The Gujarat Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2005 so that the state can borrow more because of the impact of the pandemic, said Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Nitin Patel.
As per the present Act, the state’s borrowings must not exceed 3 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product. With the passing of the Bill, Gujarat’s borrowing limit can touch 5 percent of the GSDP.
“The Union government has allowed additional borrowing limit of 2 percent of GSDP to state governments for the financial year 2020-21. The state governments are required to amend their fiscal management laws.
“Therefore, we brought this Bill,” Patel informed the House.
The Bill replaced an ordinance passed by the state government earlier.
The third bill was aimed at amending certain provisions of The Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act of 2013 to empower the state to appoint “Fire Safety Officers” for conducting inspections and issuing renewal certificates of buildings.
