Answer:

Parliamentary standing committees are permanent committees appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman. They present their report to the Houses; thereby assist the working of the Parliament in its various activities. Some of them are Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee, Committee on Public Sector Undertakings, Departmental Standing Committees etc.

Despite their significance, only 25% of the bills introduced were referred to the Committees in the 16th Lok Sabha, as compared to 71% and 60% in the 15th and 14th Lok Sabha respectively. In the first session of the 17th Lok Sabha, 14 bills were passed and none were scrutinised by any Parliamentary Committee. Important bills like the RTI amendment Bill 2019, UAPA bill 2019 etc. were passed without their scrutiny and critical analysis by the Standing Committees.

Implications of passing bills without going through the Parliamentary Committees:

♤ It restricts the ability of the Parliament to scrutinize government policies and make the government less accountable due to lack of an informed debate.

♤ In the absence of scrutiny by the Standing Committees, legislations passed may not become holistic and farsighted. Further, such laws may require frequent amendments, which delay the process and defeat the purpose.

♤ It diminishes the role of the Opposition whose members are part of the Parliamentary Committees.

♤ It complements other actions such as frequent use of guillotine, ordinances, which try to evade scrutiny of the Legislature.

♤ It reduces engagement with relevant stakeholders as the Committees act as links between the Parliament and the people on the one hand, and the administration and the Parliament on the other.

♤ It bypasses the non-partisan functioning of the Committees whose meetings are held behind closed doors and members are not bound by party whips, which allow them to have meaningful exchange of views.

♤ It dithers financial prudence as the Committees ensure economy and efficiency in public expenditure because the ministries/ departments are more careful while formulating their demands.

It sets a wrong precedent as it is against the constitutional mandate of Legislative oversight over the Executive. It is imperative to adopt the recommendations of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, 2002 of referring all bills to the Committees, longer tenure for its members and strengthening the Committees with adequate research support.