Department related Standing Committee

About:

• • It aims to secure accountability of the Executive to the Parliament.
  • They assist the Parliament in debating more effectively.
  • There are 24 standing committees– 8 under Rajya Sabha and 16 Lok Sabha.
  • 31 members (21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha).
  • The members nominated by the presiding officer of the house.
  • Minister cannot be nominated as a member
  • The term of office is one year.

Role

• • Consider the demands for grants before being voted.
  • Examine the bills pertaining to the concerned ministries / departments
  • Consider annual reports of ministries / departments
  • Consider national basic long-term policy documents presented to the Houses

Limitations:

• • Cannot consider the matters of day-to-day administration
  • Cannot consider the matters considered by other committees.
  • Recommendations are advisory in nature

Significance:

• • Gap between legislature and executive reduced
  • Significant development in Indian Parliamentary democracy
  • Keeps administrators on toes

Weakness of Parliamentary committees:

• • Recommendatory nature and lack of penal powers
  • Short tenure of members
  • Not mandatory to refer bills to committees and so bypassed
  • No independent secretariat with specialized support like in UK & US.
  • Politicization of committees

Diminishing trend:

• • Bills are passed without much discussion like 35% bills passed within 30 minutes.
  • Committees being bypassed like in 17^th Lok Sabha, only 13% of the bills referred to committees.
  • Open discussions not allowed by ruling party members, for example in Pegasus case.
  • Poor attendance of members i.e. below 50%.

Cause 

• • Overall decline in the quality of politics, debate and discussion.
  • Decline in quality of members of Parliament.
  • Decline in quality of mutual relationship between ruling party and opposition.
  • A notion that bills should be passed without debate to tackle policy paralysis and promotion of ease of doing business.
  • Weak leadership role by leader of opposition.

Consequences

• • Affects the legitimacy of Parliamentary democracy
  • It curtails policy discourse in society
  • Affects democratic policy making
  • Undermines and delegitimizes the role of committees

Way forward:

• • Referring bills to committees should be a mandatory practice.
  • Long tenure of members.
  • An independent specialized secretariat.
  • Committees as part and parcel of parliamentary process.