More MPs participated Parliamentary panel meets after special allowance withdrawn: RS study

Several leaders have claimed that the discontinuance of special allowance could be the reason for low attendance in Parliamentary committee meetings but a study by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has found that it is not the case.

An analysis by the Secretariat on the instructions of Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has found that the attendance has actually increased in 2019-20 despite the Covid-19 outbreak and when the allowances were not in place in comparison to 2016-17 when special allowance in the form of 25% of airfare as extra monetary benefit was in place. The special allowance was discontinued from 1 April, 2018.

The study was conducted as a section of MPs and leaders referred to the withdrawal of special allowance and its possible impact on attendance during meetings they had with Naidu. The issue also came up for discussion during a meeting with floor leaders during the last year's Winter Session, following which he had directed the Secretariat to empirically examine the impact of withdrawal of special allowance to MPs on attendance.

Between mid-September 2016 and mid-September 2017, the study showed, the average attendance in 119 meetings of eight Parliamentary Standing Committees under the Rajya Sabha was 47.64%. It increased to 48.79% for 119 meetings during 2019-20 when such allowance was not allowed.

Sources said 2016-17 was chosen as the reference year for assessing the impact of meeting allowance because it was available for only six months in 2017-18. During 2018-19, all the eight committees of Rajya Sabha reported low attendance, perhaps, due to the Lok Sabha elections in the first half of 2019.

The increase in attendance was despite the onset of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and its peaking six months later in September. The study, however, noted that the attendance fell marginally to 44.59% for 136 meetings during September 2020 and September 2021, while attributing it to the second wave during 2021.

The analysis also showed that four committees -- Transport, Tourism and Culture; Health and Family Welfare; Education, Women, Child Development, Youth Affairs and Sports and Commerce have improved attendance during 2019-20 over that of 2016-17. Three committees -- Home Affairs, Science and Technology and Law and Justice have maintained attendance for 2016-17. Only the committee on Industry showed decline in attendance.

Naidu, who had earlier written to party floor leaders, has been regularly reviewing the functioning of eight committees under Rajya Sabha and urged MPs to ensure attendance of 50% and average duration of 2 hours 30 minutes per each meeting.

Following his nudge, the average duration of meetings of the eight committees has increased from 1:48 hours in 2016-17 to 2:06 hours in 2019-21. The Committee on Home Affairs reported the highest increase of 49 minutes per meeting followed by Commerce 48 minutes; Education 42 minutes; Transport 35 minutes and Industry 13 minutes. The Committees on Science and Technology and Health & Family Welfare maintained the status quo.

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