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Current General Studies Magazine: "Committee on Public Undertakings" May 2015

Current General Studies Magazine (May 2015)

General Studies - II "Polity Based Article" (Committee on Public Undertakings)

Composition

The Committee on Public Undertakings consists of 22 members comprising 15 members elected by Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote and 7 members elected by Rajya Sabha in like manner and nominated by that House for being associated with the Committee.

The system of election ensures that each party/ group is represented on the Committee in proportion to respective strength of the Houses.

Process of Election

Every year, a motion is moved in the House by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs or the Chairman of the Committee, if in Office, calling upon members of the House to elect from amongst themselves 15 members to the Committee on Public Undertakings. After the motion is adopted, a programme fixing the dates for filing the nominations, withdrawal of candidatures and the election, if necessary, is notified in Lok Sabha Bulletin Part-II. On receipt of nominations, a list of persons who have filed the nomination papers is put up on the Notice Board. In case the number of members nominated is equal to the number of members to be elected, then after the expiry of the time for withdrawal of candidature the members nominated are declared elected and the result published in Bulletin Part-II. If the number of members nominated after withdrawals is more than the number of members to be elected, election is held on the stipulated date and result of election published in Bulletin Part-II.

Another motion is moved in Lok Sabha recommending to Rajya Sabha to nominate seven members of that House for being associated with the Committee. After adoption, the motion is transmitted to Rajya Sabha through a message. Rajya Sabha holds election of members to the Committee and communicates to Lok Sabha the names of members elected.

Appointment of Chairman

The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst members of the Committee.

Minister not to be Member of the Committee

A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of the Committee and if a member, after his election to the Committee, is appointed a Minister, he ceases to be a member of the Committee from the date of such appointment.

Term of Office

The term of office of the members of the Committee does not exceed one year.

Association of Members with Government Committees

A member, on his election to the Committee on Public Undertakings, has to communicate to the office of the Committee the particulars regarding the various Committees appointed by Government with which he is associated, for being placed before the Speaker. Where the Speaker considers it inappropriate that a member should continue to serve on the Government Committee, the member is required to resign membership of the Committee constituted by the Government. Where the Speaker permits a member to continue to hold membership of Government Committee, he may require that the report of the Government Committee shall be placed before the Committee on Public Undertakings for such comments as the latter Committee may deem fit to make, before it is presented to Government. Whenever the Chairman or any member of the Committee on Public Undertakings is invited to accept membership of any Committee constituted by Government, the matter is likewise to be placed before the Speaker before the appointment is accepted.

Functions and Scope

The functions of the Committee are to examine the reports and Accounts of the Public Undertakings specified in the Fourth Schedule of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha and the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon, if any, and to examine, in the context of the autonomy and efficiency of the public undertakings, whether the affairs of the public undertakings are being managed in accordance with sound business principles and prudent commercial practices. The Committee may also examine such subjects or matters which may be specifically referred to it by the House or by the Speaker. The Committee are, however, barred from examining and investigating matters of major Government policy as distinct from business or commercial functions of public undertakings, matters of day-to-day administration or matters for the consideration of which machinery is established by any special statute under which a particular undertaking is established.

Selection of Subjects for Examination

The Committee may select for examination such undertakings/subjects whose comprehensive appraisal appears in the Audit Report (Commercial) presented to Parliament by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The Committee also selects on its own certain other Undertakings/subjects for independent examination. The Committee may also select one or more aspects of working of various Public Undertakings for comprehensive horizontal study.

Constitution of Study Groups/Sub-Committee

A number of Study Groups are constituted by the Chairman from amongst members of the Committee for carrying out detailed study of various subjects selected by the Committee and for considering procedural and general matters. A Sub-Committee is also constituted for scrutiny of Action Taken replies furnished by the Government on the recommendations contained in the earlier reports and to consider the draft ‘Action Taken’ Report.

Assistance by Comptroller and Auditor General

The Comptroller and Auditor General assists the Committee in the examination of Public Undertakings selected by the Committee on the basis of audit reports.

Calling for Information from Government/Public Undertakings

The Committee calls for, in the first instance, preliminary material from the Ministries/Public Undertakings in regard to the working of the public undertakings selected for examination. Subsequently, detailed information covering various aspects of the working of the public undertaking under examination is called for by the Committee from the Government/ Undertaking.

Memoranda from non-officials

The Committee may also call for memoranda on the subjects under examination from non-official organisations/individuals etc. who are knowledgeable in the field/subject under examination by the Committee.

Evidence of non-officials

The Committee may call upon individual experts/ representatives of non-official organisations who have submitted memoranda on the subjects under examination to appear before it to give evidence.

Study Tours

The Committee undertakes ‘on-the-spot’ study tours/visits of various public undertakings, organisations and units connected with the subjects taken up for examination. For this purpose, members of the Committee are divided into Study Groups. Each study tour is undertaken with the specific approval of the Speaker.

Evidence of Officials

The Committee takes oral evidence of representatives of Undertakings and Ministries/ Departments concerned with these undertakings.

Ministers not called before Committee

A Minister is not called before the Committee either to give evidence or for consultation in connection with the examination of the public undertakings by the Committee. The Chairman of the Committee may, however, when considered necessary but after its deliberations are concluded have an informal talk with the Minister concerned to apprise him of (a) any matter of policy laid down by the Ministry or undertaking with which the Committee does not fully agree; (b) any matter of secret and confidential nature which the Committee would not like to bring on record in its report.

Report and Minutes

The conclusions of the Committee on a subject are contained in its report, which, after its adoption by the Committee, is presented in the Lok Sabha by the Chairman but if he is unable to do so then by any other Member of the Committee who has been authorised by the Chairman to present it on his behalf. Minutes of the sittings of the Committee are annexed to the Report to which these relate. A copy of the Report is also laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha by a member of the Committee who has been authorised by the Chairman to do so.

The reports of the Committee are adopted by consensus among the members. Accordingly there is no system of appending minute of dissent to the report.

Action Taken on Reports

After presentation to the Lok Sabha the report is forwarded to the Ministry or the Department concerned which is required to take action on the recommendations and conclusions contained in the report and furnish action taken replies thereon within six months.

Action taken notes received from the Ministries/ Departments are examined by the Action Taken Sub- Committee and an Action Taken Report is prepared consisting of five chapters viz. I. Report of the Committee comprising inter-alia the observations and recommendations meriting comments from the Committee; II. Recommendations which have been accepted by the Government; III. Recommendations which the Committee do not desire to pursue in view of Government’s reply; IV. Recommendations in respect of which replies of the Government have not been accepted by the Committee; and V. Recommendations in respect of which final replies of the Government have not been received. The Report, after its adoption by Committee, is presented to the House in the usual manner.

Statements of action taken on Action Taken Reports

Replies received from the Government in respect of recommendations contained in Chapter I and final replies to the recommendations contained in Chapter V of the Action Taken Reports are also laid on the Tables of both the Houses in the form of statements.

(Source- Lok Sabha of India)