All You Need To Know About Parliamentary Committee
Introduction
The effective running of Parliament is facilitated by parliamentary committees. The committees are mentioned frequently in the Indian constitution, although there are no explicit rules regarding their makeup, terms of office, or duties. Standing committees and ad hoc committees are the two main categories.
Parliamentary Committees - Appointment Process
• A parliamentary committee may be proposed by the Speaker or Chairman, elected by the house, or appointed by it.
• It operates on the speaker's or chairman's orders.
• Reports to the house, the speaker, or the chairman.
Parliamentary Committee Types
There are primarily two sorts of parliamentary committees:
• Standing committees
• Ad hoc committees
The permanent, yearly or periodically created Standing committees operate continuously.
The Ad Hoc Committees are only in place for the duration of the work given to them, after which they disband.
Standing Committee
The following list describes the six various categories of standing committees in India. They have an unbreakable nature.
1. Financial committee
Three categories of financial committees are recognized:
Public Account Committee
• The President presents annual reports from the administration and those from the Comptroller and Auditor General to the Public Accounts Committee, which reviews them. It was established in 1921. There are 22 members total—15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha.
Estimate Committee
• The Estimate Committee assesses the government's budgeted projected expenditure forecasts and suggests "economies" in spending. The 30 members are exclusively from the Lok Sabha.
Committee on Public Undertaking
• The Committee on Public Undertakings assesses the financial statements and reports of public undertakings. It has 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha.
2. Departmental Related Standing Committee
There are 24 Departmental Standing Committees in all 16 for the Lok Sabha and 8 for the Rajya Sabha.
Functions
• They work on grant applications submitted by the concerned ministries.
• They examine the bills for the ministry in question.
• They work on the annual reports for the ministries.
• They also consider the policy materials that ministries have provided to both houses.
• They offer advice, thus the recommendations they make are not legally binding on Parliament.
There are 24 departmental permanent committees:
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Committees under Rajya sabha |
Committees under Lok Sabha |
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3. Committees to inquire
There are three distinct categories:
Committee on Petitions:
This committee examines any petitions for legislation or issues that are important to the general public. The Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members, compared to the Lok Sabha committee's 15 members.
Committee on Privileges:
It conducts an investigation and makes recommendations for the best course of action when a member of the house transgresses the code of conduct. It is somewhat judicial in nature. It has 10 representatives in the Rajya Sabha and 15 in the Lok Sabha.
Ethics committee:
It looks into any violations or indiscipline committed by members of the house and takes the necessary action. It was established in the Lok Sabha in 2000 and the Rajya Sabha in 1997.
4. Committee to scrutinize and control
These committees come in six different varieties, as follows:
Committee on Government Assurance:
This committee looks at whether or not promises, guarantees, or undertakings made by ministers in the Lok Sabha were followed through on. It has 10 Rajya Sabha members and 15 members of the Lok Sabha.
Committee on Subordinate Legislation:
It assesses whether the executive branch is appropriately using the authority granted by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament to enact regulations, rules, sub-rules, and bye-laws. There are fifteen people on the committee. Its founding took place in 1953.
Committee on Papers Laid on the Table:
This committee assesses each piece of paper that ministers lay on the table to determine its legitimacy and compliance with the constitution's provisions. It has 10 Rajya Sabha members and 15 members of the Lok Sabha.
Committee for the Welfare of SCs and STs:
30 people make up the committee, there are 20 members of the Lok Sabha and 10 in the Rajya Sabha. The National Commission for SCs and STs Reports are taken into consideration by this body.
Committee on Women's Empowerment:
To ensure status, dignity, and equality for women in all fields, this committee examines the National Commission on Women's report.
Joint Committee on Office of Profit:
It assesses the makeup and character of committees and other bodies appointed by the federal, state, and union territory governments and makes suggestions regarding whether or not a person holding these positions should be barred from running for office in Parliament. It has 15 members, 10 from the Lok Sabha and 5 from the Rajya Sabha.
5. Committees relating to Day to Day business of the house
The four different types of committees are as follows:
Business Advisory Committee:
The committee oversees the house's agenda and schedule. There are 15 people on the Lok Sabha committee, and the speaker serves as its chairman. There are 11 members of the Rajya Sabha, including the chairman who serves as the body's ex officio chairman.
Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions:
This committee provides time for debate on private member bills and resolutions as well as classes legislation. The chairman of this Lok Sabha special committee, which has 15 members total, is the deputy speaker. Such a committee does not exist in the Rajya Sabha.
Rules Committee:
This committee makes suggestions for changes to the house rules. The speaker serves as the ex officio chairman of the Lok Sabha, which has 15 members total. There are 16 members total, with the chairman serving as its ex officio chairman.
Committee on absence of Members:
It examines each request for a leave of absence made by a member of the houses. There are 15 people in this Lok Sabha special committee. The Rajya Sabha doesn't have a committee of this kind.
6. Committee on housekeeping
There are four different types of committees, as follows:
General Purposes Committee:
It is responsible for handling matters that are not the responsibility of other parliamentary committees. The members of this committee are as follows:
1. The presiding officer (Speaker/Chairman) serves as the ex-officio chairman.
2. Deputy to the speaker (in the case of the Rajya Sabha, deputy chairman).
3. Members of the chairpersons' panel (in the case of the Rajya Sabha, the panel of vice-chairpersons)
4. The departmental standing committee's chairs.
5. Leaders of groupings and parties with a recognized name in the House.
6. The chairperson makes nominations for additional members.
House Committee:
Housing, food, and medical support are just a few of the services that are offered to members of the homes under the supervision of the house committee. It has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Library Committee:
The library committee is a body that examines all issues pertaining to the parliament's library. It helps the members use the library's services. It has nine members: six from the Lok Sabha and three from the Rajya Sabha.
Joint Committee:
The salary allowance and pension of member’s legislation of 1954 established the joint committees on salaries and allowances of members. It has 15 members: 10 from the Lok Sabha and 5 from the Rajya Sabha.
Consultative Committees
1. These are connected to various government ministries or departments.
2. These committees offer a venue for informally discussing governmental policies, programs, and the implementation process between the ministers and members.
3. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is in charge of forming these committees.
4. The committee has a minimum of 10 members and a maximum of 30.
5. These committees only accept voluntary members.
Ad hoc Committee
These committees fall into one of two categories: permanent or transitory.
Committees of inquiry
• These are occasionally created, either by two houses voting on a resolution or by the speaker or chairman seeking information regarding a report on a particular topic.
Advisory committees
• These committees, which are appointed to examine and report on specific bills, are select or joint committees on bills.
• They provide details on specific bills.
Recent Controversies
• The fact that standing and ad hoc committees of review and recommendations have been relegated to the background or kept in the dark in recent years must be noted.
• Referring legislation to Joint Parliamentary Committees or House Select Committees has proven to be extremely difficult for the government.
• The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement (Second Amendment) Bill was the most recent bill to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee in 2015.
• No House committee handled the most significant legislation passed by Parliament in recent years, such as the revision of Article 370, which eliminated Jammu and Kashmir's special status and divided the state into two Union Territories.
• The three agricultural produce Bills and the three labour Bills, which changed working conditions, terms of employment, grievance procedures, and social security, were instances that needed to be examined by Select Committees of the Houses during the monsoon session of Parliament. However, the bills were swiftly passed by the administration thanks to its two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament.
Conclusion
Deliberation, discussion, and reconsideration are the main responsibilities of Parliament and are characteristics of all democratic institutions. Mandatory scrutiny of major bills is not an impediment to the legislative process, rather it is important to maintain the quality of legislation, and thus the quality of governance, by giving Members a forum to engage with subject matter experts and government officials during their research. A robust parliamentary committee structure is necessary to preserve the integrity of the legislative branch of government.