Punjab Assembly here Wednesday passed three bills: 'The Punjab Forest (Amendment) Bill 2015,'The Punjab Procurement Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill 2015 and 'The Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2015. The Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill 2015, the major enactment of the day, was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Welfare and Bait-ul-Maal of May 25, 2015. The committee considered the bill in its meetings on May29 and June 5, 2015.
The objective of the bill is to institute a protection system for prevention of violence against women and for protection and rehabilitation of the women victims. The bill encompasses all types of violence against women including domestic violence, emotional, psychological ad verbal abuse, economic abuse, stalking and cyber crimes. In the bill on a complaint by aggrieved person, or authorised agent or District Women Protection officer, the court may pass an interim order, protection order, residence order and monetary order if it was satisfied that violence had taken place or was likely to take place. The breach of such orders was liable to be imprisonment and fine.
The bill has made provision of establishment of protection systems including appointment of District Women Protection Committees, Protection Centers (Violence Against Women Centers) and shelter homes across the Punjab through a phased programme to provide relief and protection to the aggrieved women. In the query period on Industry and Agricultural Departments, the House was informed by the minister that there were 223 vocational training institutions working under Punjab Vocational Training Council. To another question, the minister said as per a recent survey there were 1,475 industrial units in District Gujranwala. The house was later adjourned.