Context: Recently, the Government passed two agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha. However, the Opposition protested against the fact that neither Bill had been scrutinised by a Parliamentary Committee. Let's discuss the Roles, functions and limitations of various committees
Key Points
Parliamentary Committee
Parliament scrutinises legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways:

• The first way is by discussing it on the floor of the two Houses. This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate.
• The second way is by referring a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.

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.

Types of Parliamentary Committees

• India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.

However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.

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

Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:

• Financial Committees
• Departmental Standing Committees
• Committees to Enquire
• Committees to Scrutinise and Control
• Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
• House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees

While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.

• They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.

Why need Parliamentary Committee?

• Parliament scrutinizes legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways. The first is by discussing it on the floor of the two Houses.
• This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate.
• The time spent debating the bills can vary. They can be passed in a matter of minutes, or debate and voting on them can run late into the night.
• Since Parliament meets for 70 to 80 days in a year, there is not enough time to discuss every Bill in detail on the floor of the House.

Its role in the passage of a Bill

• The debate in the house is mostly political and does not go into the technical details of a legislative proposal.
• The second mechanism is by referring a Bill to a parliamentary committee. It takes care of the legislative infirmity of debate on the floor of the House.
• However, referring to Bills to parliamentary committees is not mandatory.

And what is a Select Committee?
India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees.

• They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure. First are committees that examine bills, budgets and policies of ministries.
• These are called departmentally related Standing Committees. There are 24 such committees and between them, they focus on the working of different ministries.
• Each committee has 31 MPs, 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
• The main purpose is to ensure the accountability of Government to Parliament through a more detailed consideration of measures in these committees.
• The purpose is not to weaken or criticize the administration but to strengthen by investing in with more meaningful parliamentary support.

Procedure

There are three broad paths by which a Bill can reach a Parliamentary Committee.

• The minister introducing the Bill recommends to the House that his Bill be examined by a Select Committee (Committee of one House i.e either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) of the House or a Joint Committee of both Houses.
• The presiding officer of the House can also send a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.
• A Bill passed by one House can be sent by the other House to its Select Committee.
• The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations. The Committee can also suggest its own version of the Bill.

What happens when a bill goes to a Committee?
Sending a Bill to any committee results in two things.

• First, the committee undertakes a detailed examination of the Bill. It invites comments and suggestions from experts, stakeholders and citizens.
• The government also appears before the committee to present its viewpoint.
• All this results in a report that makes suggestions for strengthening the Bill. While the committee is deliberating on a Bill, there is a pause in its legislative journey.
• It can only progress in Parliament after the committee has submitted its report. Usually, parliamentary committees are supposed to submit their reports in three months, but sometimes it can take longer.

What happens after the report?

• The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations.
• Very often the government incorporates suggestions made by committees. Select Committees and JPCs have an added advantage.
• In their report, they can also include their version of the Bill. If they do so, the minister in charge of that particular Bill can move for the committee’s version of the Bill to be discussed and passed in the House.

Also Read: https://abhipedia.abhimanu.com/Article/IAS/MTc5NTk5/Parliamentary-Committees-and-their-Significance-Indian-Polity-IAS