Parliament Committees | 08 Oct 2022

Why in News?

Recently, reorganization of 22 Standing Committees took place.

What are Committees of Parliament?

• About:
  • A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
  • The committee works under the direction of the Speaker/chairman and it presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/chairman.
  • Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament.
  • They draw their authority from Article 105 and Article 118.
    • Article 105 deals with the privileges of MPs.
    • Article 118 gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.
• Need:
  • A Bill is introduced in either House of Parliament to begin legislative business but the process of lawmaking is often complex, and Parliament has limited time for detailed discussions.
  • Also, the political polarisation and shrinking middle ground has been leading to increasingly rancorous and inconclusive debates in Parliament.
    • Due to these issues, a great deal of legislative business ends up taking place in the Parliamentary Committees instead.

What are the Various Committees of Parliament?

• India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
• However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
  • The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
    • Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:
      • Financial Committees
      • Departmental Standing Committees
      • Committees to Enquire
      • Committees to Scrutinise and Control
      • Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
      • House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
  • While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
    • They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.
    • The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.

What is the Significance of Parliamentary Committees?

• 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.
• Acting as a Mini-Parliament:
  • These committees act as a mini-parliament, as they have MPs representing different parties are elected into them through a system of the single transferable vote, in roughly the same proportion as their strength in Parliament.
• Instrument for Detailed Scrutiny:
  • When bills are referred to these committees, they are examined closely and inputs are sought from various external stakeholders, including the public.
• 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.
  • By virtue of being closed-door and away from the public eye, discussions in committee meetings are also more collaborative, with MPs feeling less pressured to posture for media galleries.

Why is the Sidelining of the Parliamentary Committees an Issue?

• Weakening of Parliamentary System Government:
  • A parliamentary democracy works on the doctrine of fusion of powers between parliament and the executive, but the Parliament is supposed to maintain oversight of the government and keep its power in check.
    • Thus, by circumventing the Parliamentary committees in the passing of significant legislation, there is a risk of weakening democracy.
• Enforcing Brute Majority:
  • In the Indian system, it is not mandatory for bills to be sent to committees. It’s left to the discretion of the Chair — the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and Chairperson in the Rajya Sabha.
    • By giving discretionary power to the Chair, the system has been specially rendered weak in a Lok Sabha where the ruling party has a brute majority.

Way Forward

• Mandating scrutiny for the significant bills passed is by no means a hurdle to the legislative process, rather it is necessary to uphold the quality of legislation, and by extension, the quality of governance.
• Thus, a strong parliamentary committee system is required to ensure Parliament’s sanctity in the law-making process.

Source: IE