The Haryana Assembly on Tuesday passed 11 Bills on the concluding day of its brief Monsoon session, including legislation providing for the establishment of a statutory State Commission for Minorities.
The Haryana State Commission for Minorities Bill, 2026, seeks to create an institutional mechanism to evaluate constitutional and legal safeguards available to minority communities and recommend measures for their effective implementation in the state. The Bill states that granting statutory status to the commission would help build confidence among minority communities about its functioning and effectiveness.
The commission will have a chairperson and vice-chairperson nominated by the state government. During the discussion, Congress MLA B B Batra proposed that the qualification of being a “person of integrity” be included among the criteria for appointment as chairperson. The government accepted the suggestion before the Bill was passed.
Minority safeguards under watch
The commission will evaluate the progress of minority communities, monitor the implementation of constitutional and statutory safeguards protecting their interests and examine specific complaints concerning deprivation of their rights and protections.
Among the other legislation cleared by the House were the Haryana Local Audit Bill, 2026, Haryana Private Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Haryana State Council for Physiotherapy (Repeal) Bill, 2026, and Haryana Right to Business Bill, 2026.
The Local Audit Bill seeks to establish a stronger statutory framework for independent, time-bound and effective auditing of local authorities and institutions. Its ambit will cover Panchayati Raj Institutions, urban local bodies, state universities, the Board of School Education, Bhiwani, Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, government and government-aided schools and colleges, among other institutions.
The legislation is intended to insulate the audit mechanism from local political or administrative interference and prescribe a statutory timeline for submitting annual audit reports to the state legislature.
Two new private universities proposed
The Assembly also passed amendments to the Haryana Private Universities Act, 2006, aimed at expanding higher education capacity in the state. The government cited the National Education Policy, 2020, target of achieving a 50 per cent Gross Enrolment Ratio and the need to substantially increase the number of higher education institutions by 2030.
The legislation proposes the establishment of Kusum International University in Rewari district and Masters Union University in Gurugram district.
Congress MLAs Ashok Arora, Geeta Bhukkal and B B Batra, however, urged the government to strengthen public universities before expanding the private university sector. Arora also raised concerns over high fees charged by private universities and called for a mechanism to cap them.