Introduction
Parliamentary Committees function as mini-Parliaments, conducting detailed scrutiny of legislation, budgets, and administrative actions that is often unfeasible on the floor of the House. Deriving authority from Article 105 (powers and privileges) and Article 118 (rules of procedure), they are vital for ensuring continuous executive accountability, even though their involvement has witnessed a concerning decline in recent years.
Constitutional and Functional Importance
Parliamentary committees enable cross-party consensus, informed deliberation, and technical evaluation free from partisan posturing on the floor:
- In-depth Legislative Scrutiny: Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) examine substantive bills, review ministry-specific demands for grants, and assess policy implementation away from public glare.
- Financial Accountability: Committees such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and Estimates Committee ensure post-facto expenditure audit, checking wastefulness and holding executive departments accountable to Parliament.
- Inter-Party Deliberation: In camera proceedings foster constructive dialogue and non-partisan compromise among members of opposing political parties.
Structural Challenges Limiting Oversight
Despite their indispensability, institutional constraints have eroded committee efficacy:
- Bypassing of Referral: There is a growing tendency to pass crucial bills without committee scrutiny. According to PRS Legislative Research, only 16% of bills in the 17th Lok Sabha were referred to committees, a sharp drop from 71% in the 15th Lok Sabha.
- Short Tenure: The standard one-year term for committee members limits institutional memory and prevents parliamentarians from developing deep subject-matter expertise.
- Operational and Capacity Constraints: Committees face high rates of absenteeism, a severe shortage of dedicated technical research staff, and an increasing penetration of partisan friction into committee deliberations.
Measures for Strengthening Oversight
- Mandatory Referral: Amend parliamentary rules to make the referral of all significant and complex public bills to standing committees compulsory, mirroring practices in democracies like the UK.
- Tenure Extension: Implement the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) recommendation to extend the tenure of committee members to match the full lifespan of the Lok Sabha.
- Dedicated Research Support: Provide independent, high-caliber institutional research wings to assist MPs in evaluating technical legislation, budget allocations, and policy outcomes.
Conclusion
Parliamentary committees are indispensable for preventing majoritarian overreach and enriching legislative quality in India's representative democracy. Institutionalising mandatory scrutiny, tenure stability, and expert research support will revitalize these bodies as genuine watchdogs of executive governance.