Bills in Committee stage

Subject : Polity

Section: Parliament

Context:

It’s the government that decides to send Bills to Standing Committees, said Loksabha Speaker in a recent interview.

Parliament functioning in recent years

During the pandemic, the duration of sittings was reduced but the Lok Sabha clocked 167% productivity, which was a record high.
There are frequent complaints by the Opposition that not enough Bills are being sent to parliamentary committees.

Procedure for passing a bill:

Every ordinary bill has to pass through the five stages in the Parliament before it finds a place on the Statute Book.After first reading , a bill can be referred to a parliamentary committee .
Committee Stage:The usual practice is to refer the bill to a select committee of the House.
- This committee examines the bill thoroughly and in detail, clause by clause.
- It can also amend its provisions, but without altering the principles underlying it.
- After completing the scrutiny and discussion, the committee reports the bill back to the House.

Parliamentary standing committee:

Broadly, parliamentary committees are of two kinds–Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
- The former are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis, while the latter are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them
The Constitution of India makes a mention of these committees at different places, but without making any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions, etc. All these matters are dealt by the rules of two Houses.
Accordingly, a parliamentary committee means a committee that:
- Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker / Chairman
- Works under the direction of the Speaker / Chairman
- Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker / Chairman
- Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha
There are 24 DRSCs — 16 from Lok Sabha and 8 from Rajya Sabha. Each committee has 21 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
The role: Given the volume of legislative business and the time constraints it is not possible for MPs to discuss and scrutinise all bills in the House.
Parliamentary committees, either formed for a specific bill (select committee) or permanent (standing committees that are reconstituted annually) allow for a scrutiny with the possibility of tapping subject experts from outside and other stakeholders in an environment where MPs are not bound by party positions or whips.