New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha passed the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill by a voice vote on August 1. The Bill proposes several changes to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 by decriminalising biodiversity offences, facilitating the commercial use of traditional resources to promote AYUSH industries, and fast-tracking the patent application process. The Lok Sabha had cleared the Bill on July 25. The Bill, first introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 16, 2021, by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav, will amend the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The Act provides for the conservation of biological diversity in India and its sustainable use, as well as fair and equitable sharing of the benefits that arise from using this biodiversity. Among the many criticisms of the Bill was that it promotes ‘ease of doing business’ and would exempt users of codified traditional knowledge and Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) practitioners from sharing benefits with local communities. This was one of the concerns raised by Rajya Sabha member Ayodhya Rami Reddy Alla of the YSRCP, Andhra Pradesh, on the floor while the Bill was being discussed.When the commercialisation occurs and foreigners invest as per the Bill’s proposals, will local communities benefit or not, asked Ramji, BSP, Uttar Pradesh. “There is a doubt about this too…it shouldn’t be that there will remain just a Bill to protect our biological diversity but no biological diversity to save.”Another concern was that the bill decriminalises offences and replaces them with penalties. Both Alla and Bhubaneshwar Kalita of the BJP in Assam mentioned this issue. “It raises the question whether such power should be given to government officials versus the judiciary,” said Alla. Decriminalisation of offences is being done to “reduce fear among stakeholders for effective compliance”, said Bhupendar Yadav while responding to some of these concerns raised on the floor. Administrative power is not separate from judicial review, he said. “If an adjudicating authority uses his powers wrongly, it will go to the Green Tribunal…there is a judicial process… This is a commercial issue and we have to decriminalize offences so as to promote ease of doing business.” The Rajya Sabha then discussed the Bill clause-by-clause and passed it on a voice vote.