Polity

KEY POINTS

·        DRSCs were formed in 1993.

·        Prior to that, select committees were formed from time to time for some important bills.

·        Currently, there are 24 DRSCs exist.

Functions of DRSCs

·        Examine bills referred to them.

·        Select specific topics related to the ministries & examine implementation by the government.

·        Examine the budgetary outlays of the departments.

Advantages of DRSCs

·        Anti-defection law does not apply to committees, thus it gives an opportunity to make dissent decisions.

·        Being outside public glare, it allows members to make decisions without worrying about constituency pressures.

DRSCs boost –

·        The overall effectiveness of Parliament as an institution that make laws.

·        Holds governments accountable.

·        Gives sanction for public spending.

Issues in DRSCs

·        Most of the bills were not referred to committees.

·        Referring bills to specially formed Joint committees of two houses in order to circumvent specific DRSCs which are headed by opposition parties.

·        Lack of standing research support to aid committees.

·        By only publishing final report, DRSCs lacking transparency.

·        Recommendations of the committees are not binding.

Suggestions

·        If detailed proceedings were made public, it would put more pressure on members to posture for their support base.

·        A mid-way path would be to disclose the submissions and evidence given by various experts and public to made DRSCs more transparent while keeping DRSCs free from constituency pressures.

·        Mandatory examination of all bills introduced in the parliament.

·        Creating research teams to aid committee members in order to expertise themselves and scrutinise issues more thoroughly.