Speaker pushes for strengthening of House committees

Chandigarh: Harvinder Kalyan, the speaker of the Haryana legislative assembly, held a meeting with the chairpersons of various House committees and emphasised making these panels more effective and people-centric.During the meeting, Kalka MLA Shakti Rani Sharma-led ‘Women Empowerment Committee' was also added to the existing list of House committees.During the special assembly session convened on April 27, the speaker had announced to constitute a committee on women empowerment as a mark respect for the women folk.The speaker, during the meeting, offered several suggestions to strengthen the functioning of the House committees and emphasised the need for advance planning.After preparing the advance plan on the agenda, preparation should be made for the meeting, he said. Kalyan also emphasised effective reporting after meetings and follow-up on recommendations made by the committees.The speaker said it was necessary for the committees to function effectively. The committees should coordinate between the legislative assembly secretariat, the state govt and the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General). It should be ensured that timely responses are obtained from the departments concerned, said Kalyan.He further said attendance of members in committee meetings would have to be ensured.Kalyan assured the committee heads that the legislative assembly secretariat was capable of providing all kinds of assistance to them and urged them to make full use of the available resources.He said administration could be made accountable to the legislature only by strengthening the functioning of the committees. In our constitutional democratic system, the legislature and the executive are not rivals but cooperative institutions. The fundamental objective of both institutions is to serve the public interest. The assembly committees are the most effective tools in fulfilling this objective, said the speaker.MSID:: 131200742 413 |