Parl panels should act as govt’s guide: Birla  

LOk Sabha talker Om Birla on tues said that Parliamentary committees do non act against the authorities but act as a guide and advises the administration, with the remarks coming amid growing political tensions in House panels.Concluding the two-day meeting that marked 75 years of the Estimates Committee of Parliament, Birla pitched for a larger role of lawmakers in reviewing government policies or programmes in House panels. He also urged lawmakers to involve more people, including experts, in panel meetings.“Parliamentary committees do not work in opposition to the government, but work to supplement the government, guide the government and advise the government,” Birla said. “I believe that the honourable members in the Parliamentary committee, whether in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, have direct communication and discussion with the public. They also know the impact of those schemes, policies and programmes on the ground and also know the assessment of those impacts. Therefore, when they discuss and communicate, due to their ground level knowledge, these parliamentary committees can play a very big role in planning funds, bringing efficiency in governance, bringing financial efficiency and implementing a transparent system.”The meeting, held at the Maharashtra legislature building in Mumbai, was attended by Parliament Estimates Committee head Sanjay Jayaswal and chairpersons and members of estimates committees from 30 states and Union Territories. Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan addressed the valedictory session, which was attended by Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, state legislative council chairperson Ram Shinde and state legislative council deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe among othersDuring the two-day event, discussions took place on how more suggestions from House panels can be accepted by the state governments. “One of the suggestions were that the panels can highlight the government’s policy achievements and then point out the areas where the policies failed to work,” Birla said.The LS Speaker also suggested that the committees must meet more people, experts and government officials before preparing their reports. “Through parliamentary committees, we bring transparency, accountability, responsibility in governance, and along with that, these committees also do the work of reviewing whether the social welfare schemes have reached the last person in the society or not, and their social, economic transformation along with the evaluation of those schemes,” he added,The conference also agreed upon standardising the number of reports, and to provide capacity-building exercises and training programmes to committee members to enhance their expertise in budget scrutiny and financial analysis.Parliament yet to get Justice Verma reportAhead of the monsoon session, Parliament is yet to receive the Supreme Court-appointed committee’s report on its investigation into allegations of recovery of cash at the residence of Delhi high court judge justice Yashwant Varma, a top-ranking official said on condition of anonymity. The official added that after the Parliament gets the report from the government, an elaborate process will take place which might include another internal probe and Justice Verma’s defence against the allegations before an impeachment motion can be passed.