Why in News?

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, recently addressed the National Conference of Chairpersons of Parliamentary and Legislature Committees on Welfare of SCs and STs.
• He highlighted the increasing importance of parliamentary committees in India in ensuring accountability.
• He also highlighted the declining quality of dialogue, decorum, and discussion in legislatures.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Historical Evolution and Structure of Parliamentary Committees in India
• Need for Parliamentary Committees
• Role of Parliamentary and Legislature Committees
• Significant Contributions of Parliamentary Committees in India
• Concerns Raised About Parliamentary and Legislature Committees
• The Road Ahead
• Conclusion

Historical Evolution and Structure of Parliamentary Committees in India:

• Historical evolution: Even though a structured committee system was only established in 1993, individual committees were being formed for various reasons as far back as independence. For instance, the Ad Hoc Committee on the Citizenship Clause.
• Structure:
  • Standing committees: Permanent, subject-specific (finance, defence, etc.).
  • Ad Hoc committees: Temporary, for specific purposes.
  • Joint committees: Drawn from both Houses for common issues. For example, the JPC to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the ‘One Nation, One Election’ initiative.
  • Specialised committees: e.g., Business Advisory Committee, Committee on Papers Laid on the Table.

Need for Parliamentary Committees:

• Volume of work: The Parliament cannot deliberate on all issues on the floor due to time and procedural constraints.
• Beyond legislation: Committees handle sector-specific concerns, welfare oversight, financial scrutiny, and executive accountability.
• Behind-the-scenes contribution: Every Bill, debate, and parliamentary procedure is supported by committee work, often invisible to the public eye.

Role of Parliamentary and Legislature Committees:

• Accountability and transparency: Committees scrutinize government functioning, schemes, and expenditure.
• Bipartisan nature and consensus building: Panels function above party lines, making them crucial for effective governance.
• Oversight on spending: Demand for Grants reports highlight expenditure gaps (e.g., Panchayati Raj Ministry’s under-utilisation of funds in 2022-23).
• Impactful interventions: Empowered to recommend improvements in implementation of schemes for SCs and STs, ensure budget allocations reach intended beneficiaries.

Significant Contributions of Parliamentary Committees in India:

• Digital Data Protection Bill: From Justice Srikrishna Committee (2017) → Joint Parliamentary Committee (2021) → Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (2022).
• Major legislations referred:
  • Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill.
  • Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill.
  • Jan Vishwas Bill.
  • Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill.
  • Competition (Amendment) Bill, Electricity Bill, Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill.
• Public Accounts Committee (2015): Flagged inefficiencies in defence shipyards — cost overruns, delays, inadequate practices.

Concerns Raised About Parliamentary and Legislature Committees:

• Decline in deliberation: Reduced debates and disruptions in both Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
  • For example, only 60% bills referred to these committees in the 14th Lok Sabha, 15th Lok Sabha (71%), 16th Lok Sabha (25%), and 17th Lok Sabha (16%), highlighting their declining role in legislative/ expert scrutiny.
• Language and conduct: Falling standards of parliamentary behaviour. Example: recent Monsoon Session of Parliament marred by daily disruptions over electoral roll revision in Bihar.
• Political polarisation: Committees could lose their influence.
• Lack of binding power: Recommendations often ignored.

The Road Ahead:

• Compulsory referral of Bills: As in the U.S., every Bill should be scrutinised by relevant committees before passing.
• Strengthening powers: To avoid becoming “toothless tigers,” committees need more authority to enforce accountability.
• Institutionalisation: Formalise processes to prevent political expediency from bypassing scrutiny.
• Preserve consensus mechanism: Committees must remain bipartisan spaces of constructive deliberation.

Conclusion:

• Strengthening the committee system is essential to revive deliberative democracy in India, as it provides a bipartisan space for scrutiny, accountability, and consensus-building.
• Empowering parliamentary committees in India with greater authority can ensure more informed, inclusive, and transparent law-making in the years ahead.