Test: Parliamentary Committees - UPSC MCQ

Parliamentary committee means a committee that: 1 Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker / Chairman 2 Works under the direction of the Speaker / Chairman 3. Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker / Chairman 4. Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha

Functions -

1. To examine the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts of the Union government and any other accounts laid before the Lok Sabha.

2. The appropriation accounts compare the actual expenditure with the expenditure sanctioned by the Parliament through the Appropriation Act, while the finance accounts show the annual receipts and disbursements of the Union Government.

3. In scrutinizing the appropriation accounts and the audit report of CAG on it, the committee has to satisfy itself that - (a) the money that has been disbursed was legally available for the applied service or purpose; (b) the expenditure conforms to the authority that governs it; and (c) every re-appropriation has been made in accordance with the related rules.

4. To examine the accounts of state corporations, trading concerns and manufacturing projects and the audit report of CAG on them (except public undertakings).

5. To examine the accounts of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, the audit of which is conducted by the CAG.

6. To consider the report of the CAG relating to the audit of any receipt or to examine the accounts of stores and stocks.

7. To examine the money spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted by the Lok Sabha for that purpose. In the fulfillment of the above functions, the committee is assisted by the CAG.

Consultative Committees Formation: These committees are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. These are normally constituted after the new Lok Sabha is constituted. This implies that these committees stand dissolved upon dissolution of every Lok Sabha and thus, are reconstituted upon the constitution of each Lok Sabha. Composition The guidelines regarding the composition, functions, and procedures of these committees are formulated by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The same Ministry also makes arrangements for holding their meetings both during the session and the intersession period of Parliament. These consist of members of both the Houses of Parliament. However, the membership of these committees is voluntary and is left to the choice of the members and the leaders of their parties. The maximum membership of a committee is 30 and the minimum is 10. Functions These committees are attached to various ministries/departments of the Central Government. The Minister/Minister of State in charge of the Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the consultative committee of that ministry. These provide a forum for informal discussions between the ministers and the members of Parliament on policies and programs of the government and the manner of their implementation. The Consultative Committees are not Parliamentary Committees. A parliamentary committee means a committee that: Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman. Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman. Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman. Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.

Committee on Public Accounts: This Committee consists of 15 members elected by the Lok Sabha and 7 members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with it.

The members are elected through the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote in both the houses. The term of the Committee is one year. The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from amongst the members of the committee.