JOIN USIn a historic move, Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly has decided to set up standing committees, on the lines of the Parliament model, covering a wide range of subjects to achieve better coordination between the policymakers and the executive.
“The idea is to enable the legislators, who will be members of these committees, to study, research and work closely with the officers so that effective policies could be framed. This will bring more transparency to the governance,” Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar said.
The decision to put in place a new mechanism was taken at a meeting of the Rules Committees of the Assembly and the Legislative Council here chaired by the speaker. Describing the step as a “milestone” in the history of the Assembly, Manohar said that the standing committees would be constituted before the commencement of the winter session.
The decision was taken after studying the working of the Parliamentary standing committees. “The demand for a similar set-up at the Assembly level has been a long-pending one. This will truly empower the legislators and they can play a more effective role in the policy making as well as the government,” Manohar said.
Initially, two standing committees will be constituted, one to deal with the government bills and the other with the annual budget. They will be extended to other departments and subjects, once members are convinced about the efficacy of the new system.
Cutting across party lines, the members of the Rules Committee unanimously felt that there was an urgent need for constituting the standing committees, since political debates were taking precedence over other agenda in the Assembly.