Parliament Watch: Reservation in Judiciary, air pollution and more [Day 14 round up]

Here is a glimpse of the responses received on issues ranging from air pollution to reservation in the judiciary on the fourteenth day of the 2021 Winter Session of Parliament..A question was tabled before the Rajya Sabha today by CPI (M) MP K. Somaprasad on statutory reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the higher judiciary. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju responded that Articles 124, 217 and 224 of the Constitution don't provide for reservations in appointment of judges. However, the Central government was requesting Chief Justices of High Courts to consider candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC, other minorities and women while sending proposals for judicial appointments, to ensure diversity in the higher judiciary.."Government of India has launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a national level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country," Minister of State in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey mentioned while responding to a question by three MPs on the measures being adopted to tackle air pollution.The response also states that ₹4400 crore has been released in the Budget of Financial Year 2020-21 to tackle the problem of air pollution.Other measures taken by the Central government in this regard are: 1. City Specific Action Plans have been prepared for the identified 132 non-attainment and million plus population cities 2. Public Grievance Redressal System and Graded Response Action Plan have been developed and hot spots identified. 3. City level implementation committees and Air Quality Management Cells (AQMC) at Urban Local Bodies level have been constituted Apart from this, the response enlists a host of initiatives taken by the Central government to tackle crop residue management, monitoring of ambient air quality through programmes like National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP) and monitoring of NCAP, among others..Rijiju admitted that there have been demands to set up Benches of the Supreme Court in different parts of the country, while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha by TDP Member of Parliament Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar."The Supreme Court has consistently not agreed for setting up benches of the Supreme Court outside Delhi," he stated in the reply.Similarly, requests to set up additional High Court Benches have been received, but there is no complete proposal pending with the government, Rijiju replied..Supreme Court has consistently not agreed to establishing its Benches outside Delhi: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.Kiren Rijiju responded to a question in the Rajya Sabha from BJP Member of Parliament Harnath Singh Yadav on conducting the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and other law entrance exams in regional languages."The Bar Council of India shall write to the Universities asking them to further explore the feasibility of conducting entrance examination in respect of regional languages for the convenience of the locals of the area apart from conducting the same in English language," Rijiju said in the written reply..CLAT, other law entrance exams in regional languages? BCI to ask law universities to explore feasibility