Too many MLAs in govt may cripple Punjab Vidhan Sabha committees

CHANDIGARH: Too many members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the government in Punjab threaten to derail the functioning of Vidhan Sabha committees.
The situation is emerging days before the formal announcement of committees by speaker Charnjit Singh Atwal. The lists are ready for the speaker's clearance, sources said.
Eighteen ministers, 21 chief parliamentary secretaries (CPS) and speaker and deputy speaker are not eligible to be members of the 14 Vidhan Sabha committees, generally having 13 members each.The number of members in committees are in proportion to the strength of each party in the Vidhan Sabha.
As ministers and CPS are not eligible, the government is left with only 27 members to represent the government in all committees. As a result, each member from the government will have to work in three or four committees. While the opposition members may have to do little running around as its 46 members will normally form 40% of each committee, the government has to have at least 58% members in each committee to maintain their proportion and majority.
The situation has made the assembly committees weak vis-a-vis the government. The decisions of the committees are more inclusive as the opinion of the opposition is also well-represented in the committees' functioning that is kept a secret during the proceedings.
The government is forced to pack each committee with its members as a majority decision could go against them if the opposition is allowed to have majority. The only benefit an MLA can have is more daily allowance, but no gain for the people.
Studies have shown that the committee system in Parliament has strengthened the decision-making process smoother and more effective, but the Vidhan Sabhas have not seen that level of efficiency in the functioning of committees.
Some senior MlAs told The Times of India, on condition of anonymity, "Practically, an MLA, who is on many committees, ends up just marking his presence in the committee proceedings without contributing anything meaningful in the decision making."
A committee meets at least twice a month and meetings could be held at separate places. As per Vidhan Sabha procedures, an MLA needs at least three days for attending one meeting and is paid Rs 1,000 per day accordingly. He also gets Rs 15 per kilometer conveyance.
Another problem with MLAs is that to attend their committee meetings, they have to be at the place of the meeting, away from his or her constituency. The work of public thus gets affected and their constituents always complain that their MLA is not available for members.
"The situation can be handled only by providing each MLA a secretariat to do his study for each committee and inform the MLA before he participates in a meeting to make a meaningful contribution," secretary, Vidhan Sabha Study Centre of Mahatma Gandhi State Institute for Policy, Punjab (MGSIPAP), B S Dhillon, said when asked to comment.
The leader of opposition Sunil Jakhar also agreed with the suggestion, saying that deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in fact once promised to provide facilities to MLAs on the lines of American senators who have their individual secretariats. Jakhar said, "There is a great need to strengthen the committees in the interest of decision-making becoming more democratic, accountable and transparent."