Parliamentary committees

News:Parliamentary Committee on Finance has agreed to deliberate on the state of economy as the first subject to be taken up at its next meeting on October 17,2019.

Facts:

What are Parliamentary committees?

• The Parliamentary committees are established to study and deal with various matters that cannot be directly handled by the legislature due to their volume.They also monitor the functioning of the executive branch.

Types of Parliamentary committees:The Parliamentary committees are of two kinds.

• The Standing committees are elected or appointed periodically and they work on a continuous basis.
• Ad hoc or select committees are created on a temporary basis as the need arises and they are dissolved after they complete the task assigned to them.

Powers and report:

• Parliamentary committees draw their authority from Article 105 (on privileges of Parliament members) and Article 118(on Parliament’s authority to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of business).
• The Committee reports are usually exhaustive and provide authentic information on matters related to governance.
• The bills that are referred to committees are returned to the House with significant value addition.Parliament is not bound by recommendations of committees.

Importance of Parliamentary committees:

• Lawmaking:The Committees do a detailed discussion and analysis on a proposed law which allows every law to be beneficial for the citizens.
• Executive accountability:Parliamentary committees ensure executive accountability through scrutiny of public spending and various laws.
• Better informed discussions: Committee allows members for a more meaningful exchange of views as against discussions in open Houses where party positions take precedence.This allows them to take better decisions on policies.
• Expertise:Committees allow use of input and suggestions of various expertise on the subject matter of law thereby helping to formulate better policies and laws.