Syllabus:

GS 2: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Context: 

Recently, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated a national conference to mark the 75th anniversary (platinum jubilee) of the Parliamentary Estimates Committee.

More on the News

• Speaker inaugurated conference in Mumbai’s Vidhan Bhavan.

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla highlighted how the committee helps different government institutions work together more effectively.

• The constitution has not provided any special provisions on the composition, tenure, or functioning of the Parliamentary Committees. 

• Parliamentary Committees draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.

About Parliamentary Committees

• Parliamentary committees help to manage the challenges of running a large and complex legislature.

• India’s parliamentary committee system began during British rule. 

• The first such committee was the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), set up in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919, also known as the Montford Reforms.

• After independence, India adopted the committee system from the British Parliament and added its own new methods to handle the heavy workload in Parliament more efficiently. 

• Parliamentary committees are formed according to the rules of the Lok Sabha. They are either appointed or elected by the House, or nominated by the Speaker or Chairman.

• These committees work under the guidance of the Speaker or Chairman and submit their reports to them or directly to the House.

• Parliament can form a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for a specific purpose, with members from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to closely examine a topic or Bill.

• Similarly, either House can create a Select Committee with members only from that House.

• They can also invite experts and involve stakeholders in discussions.

• parliamentary committees are of two types:

• Standing Committees 
• Ad Hoc Committees. 

• The former are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.

• The latter are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.

• The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. 
• Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.

Estimate Committee 

• The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister. Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30. 

• All the thirty members are from Lok Sabha only. The Rajya Sabha has no representation in this committee. 

• These members are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its own members, according to the principles of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. 

• Thus, all parties get due representation in it. The term of office is one year. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee. 

• The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker amongst its members and generally from the ruling party.

Function of the Estimate Committee

• Report what economies, improvements in organization, efficiency or administrative reform, consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, may be affected;

• suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration;

• examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates; and

• Suggest the form in which the estimates shall be presented to Parliament.

Mains Question

Parliamentary committees play a crucial role in ensuring detailed scrutiny and accountability in legislative functioning. Discuss the significance of these committees in the Indian parliamentary system, with examples. Also suggest measures to further strengthen their effectiveness. (15M, 250W)