Parliament and Its Panels

Context: The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, is keen on amending the rules to give Department­related Parliamentary Standing Committees a fixed tenure of two years, however since these are joint committees, Speaker’s concurrence is also required.

Provisions related to Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DPSCs)

• Strength: There are 24 Department-related Standing Committees, each with a membership of 31 (10 of the Rajya Sabha and 21 of the Lok Sabha).

• They can accommodate 240 members of the Rajya Sabha and 504 members of the Lok Sabha. 

• Eligibility: Ministers cannot be members of these committees and some senior members opt-out.

• Term of office:: According to sub-rule (4) of Rule 331D of the Lok Sabha Rules and sub-rule (3) of Rule 269 of the Rajya Sabha Rules, the term of office of the “members” of the committees shall not exceed one year. 

• No Fixed Tenure: The standard prescription relating to the constitution of those committees states that the committee shall hold office until a new committee is nominated.

• Committees concerned with deliberations of a serious nature were given a term coterminous with that of the House, while others were prescribed annual renewal.

Arguments in favour of tenurial reforms in DPSCs.

• In consonance with the biennial reconstitutions of Rajya Sabha: One­third of its members retire every two years by virtue of clause (1) of Article 83 of the Constitution.

• In the Rajya Sabha, the annual renewal is only notional; major changes are brought about only after each biennial election.

• No rules of fixed tenure: The Rajya Sabha Rules prescribe no fixed tenure for all the other Standing Committees of the Rajya Sabha listed therein.

• Most of its committees listed in the Lok Sabha Rules have a tenure of one year, except a few for which no tenure has been prescribed.

• The language of the Rules of the two Houses makes it clear that the one­year term is of the members of the committees and not of the committees per se.

Way Forward

• Different tenures for different Houses: Since there are no provisions contemplating a fixed tenure for the DPSCs in any of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Rules.

• No need to mandate the same term for the members of both the Houses, since there are no provisions contemplating a fixed tenure for the DPSCs in any of the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Rules.
• It may be two years for the Rajya Sabha members, and it may be coterminous with its life for the Lok Sabha members. 

• Allowing the members to continue till retirement: Since every eligible member is a part of DPSCs, a member should be allowed to continue till retirement in order that the committee is able to benefit from his experience and expertise.

• Filling casual vacancies: The Rules could also provide that casual vacancies may be filled in by the Presiding Officers, who may also be empowered to reconstitute the membership of their respective Houses in the committees.