PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE – POLITY
News: The role of Parliamentary Committees
What's in the news?
● Due to the sheer volume of information and scale of operations that the Indian Parliament is required to undertake, it is not feasible to take up all issues on the floor of the House.
● Thus, Parliamentary committees - panels made up of MPs are constituted to deal with such situations and take up sector specific concern.
Key takeaways:
● As per data from PRS, as little as 25% of the bills introduced were referred to committees in the 16th Lok Sabha, as compared to 71% and 60% in the 15th and 14th Lok Sabha respectively.
● This represents a declining trend of national legislation being subjected to expert scrutiny.
Parliamentary Committees:
● A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker, and which works under the direction of the Speaker. It presents its report to the House or to the Speaker.
● Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament. They draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.
Nomination: The Presiding Officer of each House nominates members to these panels.
Features:
● A Minister is not eligible for election or nomination to Financial Committees, and certain Departmentally Related Committees.
● The heads of the panels schedule their meetings. They play a clear role in preparing the agenda and the annual report, and can take decisions in the interest of the efficient management of the Committee. The chairperson presides over the meetings and can decide who should be summoned before the panel.
Power:
● An invitation to appear before a Parliamentary Committee is equivalent to a summons from a court - If one cannot come, he or she has to give reasons, which the panel may or may not accept.
● However, the chairman should have the support of the majority of the members to summon a witness.
Tenure:
● MPs typically have a one-year tenure on Parliamentary Committees. Usually, the composition of a Committee remains more or less the same in terms of representation of the various parties.
Recommendations:
● Reports of Departmentally Related Standing Committees are recommendatory in nature.
● They are not binding on the government, but they do carry significant weight.
Types of Parliamentary committees:
Parliamentary Committees can be classified into
● Financial Committees
● Estimates Committee
● Public Accounts Committee
● Committee on Public Undertakings
Departmentally Related Standing Committees:
● Seventeen Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into being in 1993, when Shivraj Patil was Speaker of Lok Sabha, to examine budgetary proposals and crucial government policies.
● The aim was to increase Parliamentary scrutiny, and to give members more time and a wider role in examining important legislation.
● The number of Committees was subsequently increased to 24. Each of these Committees has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
Other Parliamentary Standing Committees:
● There are other Standing Committees for each House, such as the Business Advisory Committee and the Privileges Committee.
Joint Parliamentary Committee:
● Parliament can also constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) with a special purpose, with members from both Houses, for detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill.
● Also, either of the two Houses can set up a Select Committee with members from that House.
● JPCs and Select Committees are usually chaired by ruling party MPs, and are disbanded after they have submitted their report.
Ad hoc Committees:
● Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose.
● They cease to exist after they have completed the task assigned to them, and have submitted a report to the House.
● The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.
● Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.
Necessity of the creation of Parliamentary Committees:
● Due to the sheer volume of information and scale of operations that the Indian Parliament is required to undertake, it is not feasible to take up all issues on the floor of the House.
● Thus, Parliamentary committees panels made up of MPs are constituted to deal with such situations and take up sector-specific concerns.
Functioning of Parliamentary Committees:
● The Committees work closely with multiple Ministries, and facilitate inter-ministerial coordination.
● Bills that are referred to Committees often return to the House with significant value-addition.
● The Committees look into the demands for grants of Ministries/departments, examine Bills pertaining to them, consider their annual reports, and look into their long-term plans and report to Parliament.
● During the course of the 17th Lok Sabha, only 14 Bills have been referred for further examination so far.
● As per data from PRS, as little as 25% of the Bills introduced were referred to committees in the 16th Lok Sabha, as compared to 71% and 60% in the 15th and 14th Lok Sabha respectively. This represents a declining trend of national legislation being subjected to expert scrutiny.
Current Progress:
1. Personal data protection Bill 2022:
● In the line of Puttaswamy judgement, a Sri Krishna Committee was formed to draft the personal data protection bill.
● On the basis of which the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was tabled in the Lok Sabha. It was referred to another committee, this time a Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by P.P. Chaudhary, whose report came out in December 2021, following which the bill was withdrawn and a new Draft Digital Data Protection Bill was introduced for public consultation in November 2022.
● In each iteration, the committee's insights have not only been invaluable but also formed the very basis of what is possibly the single most crucial legislation for a growing economy in the digital age.
2. Other Bills:
● Several important laws such as the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill that seeks to raise the legal marriageable age of women to 21.
● The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill that brings into enactment the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for combating piracy in the high seas.
● The Jan Vishwas Bill that amends 42 laws across sectors like agriculture and media.
● The Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill that extends the scope of protected species.
● The Competition (Amendment) Bill, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, and the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill have all been referred to Committees.
Significance of Parliamentary Committees:
1. Provides Legislative Expertise:
● Most MPs are not subject matter experts on the topics being discussed — they are generalists who understand the pulse of the people but rely on advice from experts and stakeholders before making decisions.
● Parliamentary committees are meant to help MPs seek expertise and give them time to think about issues in detail.
2. Provides a Check on the Government:
● Although committee recommendations are not binding on the government, their reports create a public record of the consultations that took place and put pressure on the government to reconsider its stand on debatable provisions.
3. Policy challenges:
● Disruptive Changes in technology and the expansion of the economy bring new policy challenges that require the assistance of experts in dealing with such situations.
4. Scrutiny of public funds:
● The Public accounts committees scrutinize the government accounts and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India. Thus reducing the chance of misspending and also validating the government’s spending statistics.
5. Ensure participation of MPs:
● The Committee on Absence of Members considers all applications from members for leave of absence from the sittings of the House and examines every case where a member has been absent. This ensures participation of each member in the constructive lawmaking process and various debates and discussions.
Issues of Parliamentary Committees:
1. Lack of adequate time:
● Parliamentary Committees often have to deal with a large number of matters within a short period affecting their ability to conduct thorough scrutiny and analysis of issues.
2. Lack of enforceability:
● Parliamentary Committees do not have any binding authority over the government or the House.
● Their recommendations are only advisory in nature and can be accepted or rejected by the government or the House. This reduces their impact and influence on policy making.
3. Lack of adequate resources:
● Parliamentary Committees lack adequate staff, research support, infrastructure, and funds to carry out their functions effectively.
● They also face difficulties in accessing relevant information and data from the government.
4. Lack of power for opposition MP's:
● Important committees are headed by ruling party MP's.
● The grievances and recommendations of the opposition party MP's are not taken by the committees which erodes the very basic nature of the committee.
WAY FORWARD:
1. Mandatory referral:
● The Parliament could consider a compulsory referral, for the Bills that are tabled on the floor, to the appropriate committees.
● In the U.S., committees play a crucial role and Bills are referred to them post introduction for scrutiny. It allows changes to be made and the modified Bill to go for voting.
2. More powers:
● Arming them with more powers will help them ensure accountability from the executive instead of making them toothless tigers.
3. Make the recommendations - a binding one:
● Increase enforceability by making committee recommendations mandatory or requiring a reasoned response from the government or the House.