Parliamentary Committee

Published on 16 Jan 2025

A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/ Chairperson and works under the direction of the Speaker / Chairperson. There are two types of committees - ad hoc committees, which are constituted temporarily for a specific purpose, and standing committees which are permanent in nature.

The standing committees are broadly categorized into 6 types: Financial Committee, Departmental Standing Committee, Committee to Inquire, Committee to Scrutinize and Control, Committee on Day to Day Administration and Housekeeping Committee.

Parliamentary Financial Committees

The financial committees of the Parliament constitute the Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee and Committee on Public Undertakings. These committees play a crucial role in the scrutiny and oversight of financial matters, including budgetary allocation, taxation and government spending.

• Public Account Committee: The body is responsible for examining the Appropriation report and Finance report of the CAG which highlights the financial irregularities and mismanagement. They ensure accountability in public spending and recommend corrective measures to rectify discrepancies.

• Estimates committee: The committee is responsible for examining the budgetary proposals of the government and assessing the economic effectiveness of the programmes. Its recommendations contribute to efficient utilisation of the resources of the budget.

• Committee on Public Undertakings: The body is responsible for examining the financial management of PSUs and enterprises owned or controlled by the government thus ensuring financial viability of public enterprises.

Department Related Standing Committees

There are 24 department related standing committees, each comprising 31 members and associated with a particular ministry. Out of the 24 committees, 8 work under the Rajya Sabha and 16 work under Lok Sabha. The following are the functions of the committee

• Demand for grant: Consider the demand for grants of the concerned ministry/department before they are voted in the Lok Sabha. Its report shall not suggest any cut motion.

• Bills: Examine bills associated with the concerned ministry.

• Reports: Consider the annual report of the ministry

Significance of Parliamentary Committees

• In depth examination of policies: The scrutinization of the committee facilitates detailed examination and review of complex provisions, thus giving better clarity on the nature of the bill.

• Example: The demand for grants of various ministries are scrutinised by the Department related standing committee, which aids in efficient budget discussions.

• Enhance the quality of bill: The discussions in the committee would bring diverse perspectives which can make the provisions of the bill more inclusive and acceptable.

• Example: The scrutiny offered by the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha enhanced the quality of the GST bill.

• Bipartisan partnership: Parliamentary committees offer a space for opposition members to contribute towards policy making. It also allows ruling party members to question and correct the policies put forth by the government.

• Example: The Public Accounts Committee is chaired by an opposition member which indicates collective bipartisan functioning.

• Prevent hasty decision making: The referral to committees ensures that the government is not hastily passing the bill without accommodating criticism.

• Expertise and specialisation: A committee can bring together experts in various fields to provide insight and recommendations for legislation.

• Example: The Standing Committee on Health can include legislators who have specialised knowledge in health which ensures effective deliberation.

• Reduce the workload for the legislature: The legislature meets for a limited number of days and finds it difficult to scrutinise every bill put forth by the government. This shortage of time can be balanced by an efficient functioning Parliamentary committee.

• Example: In the 15th Lok Sabha, 71% of the bills were referred to the Parliamentary committee showing their crucial role in policy formulation.

Focus on Financial Committees

• Facilitate fiscal prudence: The committee recommends methods by which the effectiveness of the spending can be increased, thus improving the financial discipline.

• Example: Recommendations of the Estimates committee can make policies of budget more fiscally prudent.

• Oversight over government expense: The security, though post-mortem in nature, ensures that government actions are not passing unchecked which reduces corruption.

• Example: The Committee on Public Undertakings ensures the monitoring of expenses made by PSU and checks the misuse of funds.

• Assessment of the government policies: The financial management of each project is an indication of the project implementation effectiveness and hence can be used to assess the government.

• Example: The CAG report of Appropriation account and financial account gets scrutinised by the Public Account Committee, which ensures effective oversight over public policies.

• Ensure accountability: The committee reports are effective guides for the Parliament and public to hold the government accountable for its fiscal policies.

• Facilitate effective distribution of public resources: The committee looks through government programmes to ensure the distribution of financial resources is more equitable and meets the demand of the people.

Weakness of Financial Committees

• Limited number of referrals: The bills being referred to committees has drastically reduced over the years.

• Example: Only 25% of the bills were referred to committee in the 16th Lok Sabha which was 71% in the 15th Lok Sabha.

• Non-binding recommendations: The government may choose not to implement the suggestions as these are not legally binding which affects the utility of such recommendations.

• Example: The estimates committee suggests economic policies in public expenditure, but this is not binding in nature.

• Lack of adequate resources: There exists scarcity in terms of human expertise and financial resources. This can reduce the scope of effective in depth analysis.

• Example: Petitions committee has a lot of work pending before the body due to lack of adequate resources at their disposal.

• Political partisanship: Though the committees are bipartisan in theory, some committees can become politicised. This can affect the objectivity and thoroughness of the review.

• Delay in report submission: Lack of frequent meetings and limited availability of data hinders timely submission of reports which causes delays in policy making.

• Example: There was delay in the submission of a report on the Personal Data Protection Bill introduced in Lok Sabha in 2019.

• Post mortem analysis: At many times the committees are just analysing the actions and policies of the government which already took place and hence cannot prevent their occurrence.

• Example: Public Accounts Committee, one of the most prominent committees, analyses the CAG report on government expenditure on a post mortem basis.

• Underutilization of expertise: The committee may not be constituted to incorporate the best experts which can bring down the potential of the committee.

• Example: Bills which are more oriented towards foreign policies, science and technology etc. must incorporate more experts in the panel.

Parliamentary committees should be made more relevant by ensuring that all significant bills pass through them. More involvement of experts with adequate data support systems can improve the quality of reports and also bridge the delay. Transparency of the unit must be maintained to ensure bipartisan performance and measures should be brought to give more tooth to their recommendations.

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Parliamentary Committee ad hoc committees standing committees Public Accounts Committee Estimates Committee and Committee on Public Undertakings Financial Committee Departmental Standing Committee Committee to Inquire Committee to Scrutinize and

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2

Topics:
Parliament and State Legislatures