Context: After a low of 33 days in 2020, the Parliament saw only a small improvement in 2021 by functioning for 58 days, keeping the Opposition outcry alive on the reduced number of working days.

• This article discusses the issue with the reduced number of Sittings of State Assemblies and Parliament.
• Both Parliament and the State Assemblies cited restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason for cutting back on scheduled sittings.

A worrying trend and its impact

• Fewer sittings of the assembly adversely impact the responsibility of the legislatures to scrutinize the work of the executive.
• Due to lack of adequate sittings, the members do not have sufficient time to prepare for the deliberation on bills, and several of them are passed without much discussion.
• Due to fewer sittings, budgets of many states have been passed without detailed discussion and thus the legislature failed to scrutinize budgetary proposals before approving them.
• Lesser number of sitting days also means that state governments are free to make laws through ordinances. And when they convene legislatures, there is little time for MLAs to scrutinize laws brought before them. 

Possible Reason

• Lack of Independence: One of the reasons for decreasing sittings of assemblies is due to the lack of independence of the legislature to decide its own sittings.?
• Disruptions: Even during the few days that the assemblies meet, disruptions further reduce the time spent on deliberation on important issues of the state.

Sessions of State legislature

• The Constitution does not prescribe a minimum number of sittings.
• Article 174 of the Constitution only says that the State legislature has to meet within six months of the last session. 
• Within this period, it is up to the State governments to call for the session.

Suggestion

• Continuous and close scrutiny by legislatures is central to improving governance in the country. 
• Increasing the number of working days for state legislatures is a first step in increasing their effectiveness. 
• One way to do that is by convening legislatures to meet all around the year. 
• In many mature democracies, a fixed calendar of sittings of legislatures, with breaks in between, is announced at the beginning of the year. 
• It allows the government to plan its calendar for bringing in new laws. 
• It also has the advantage of increasing the time for debate and discussion in the legislative assembly. 
• With the legislature sitting throughout the year, it gets rid of the politics surrounding the convening of sessions of a legislature.

Road Ahead

• Over the years, the states have become the focal point of implementation of schemes apart from more devolution of funds from the Center. Hence, it is necessary for legislatures to meet more frequently to examine the work of the government.

By: Shubham Tiwari