Parliamentary Committees

Parliamentary Committees

Subject – Polity

Context- Amid growing demands for the restoration of Statehood for Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh have been visited by members of three parliamentary committees in the past 10 days.

Concept –

• Any subject related to these committees is dealt with Article 118 (1) of the Indian Constitution.
• Purpose of Parliamentary Committees:
  • Since Parliament meets only for 70 to 80 days in a year, there is not enough time to discuss every Bill in detail on the floor of the House. Plus debate in the house is mostly political and does not go into the technical details of a legislative proposal.
  • Therefore, it takes care of the legislative infirmity of debate on the floor of the House. However, referring Bills to parliamentary committees is not mandatory.
• Indian Constitution mentions two kinds 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.
  • Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
  • The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations. The Committee can also suggest its own version of the Bill.