PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PUNJAB COMMITTEE SYSTEM
BY
KHALID MAHMOODSECRETARY (PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS)
The Parliamentary Committees are conceived as eyes and ears of a legislature and that’s why they are often termed as ‘mini legislatures’. A dynamic committee system can achieve tangible accountability of the executive to the legislature and of the legislature to the people. To strengthen the role of Parliamentary Committees is to strengthen the legislature. The Assembly transacts a great deal of its business through its committees. These committees are constituted to deal with the parliamentary business requiring expert or detailed consideration. The system of parliamentary committees is particularly useful in dealing with matters which, on account of their special or technical nature, are better considered in detail by a small number of members rather than by the House itself. Moreover, the system saves the time of the House for the discussion of important matters and prevents the Parliament from getting lost in details and thereby losing hold on matters of policy and broad principles. Additionally, a Committee can benefit itself from the concerned department and experts as well as stakeholders, who are not entitled to give their advice in the House.
Chapter XVII (rule 148 to rule 188) of the Rules of Procedure of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab 1997, provides for the composition, constitution and functions of Standing and other Committees. Standing Committees are constituted for the tenure of the Assembly while other Committees are formed for specific purpose and for specific period.
At present, the Punjab Assembly has a total of 51 Standing Committees as under:
· 42 Departmental Standing Committees (Rule 148); and
· 9 Other Standing Committees.
The Committees are required to be elected within ninety days after the election of the Leader of the House following the general election (Rule 150); and the Chairpersons of these Committees are required to be elected within thirty days after the election of these Committees (Rule 151). Quorum for election of Chairperson is majority of elected members and for a meeting is one-fourth of its elected Members. The Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary concerned are the ex-officio (non-voting) members of the Departmental Standing Committees [149(2)].
The membership of Departmental Standing Committees was raised from 10 to 11 in 2019 and again from 11 to 15 in 2024 with at least two women members.
All the Committees (except Business Advisory & Ethics and House & Library Committees) are elected by the Assembly, as far as possible, in accordance with the agreement of the Leader of the House and Leader of the Opposition (Rule 150). However, if there is no such agreement, the members of the Committees shall be elected by the Assembly according to the principle of proportional representation through a complicated procedure of single transferable vote, laid down in the Fifth Schedule of the Rules of Procedure.
The political parties in the Assembly are represented in the Committees in proportion to their numerical strength in the Assembly. A Committee elects its Chairperson from amongst its members. A Committee may appoint a sub-committee for a specified function arising out of the matter referred to the Committee.
Traditionally every member of the Assembly is included in at least one Committee. Cabinet Members and Parliamentary Secretaries are ex-officio members of their respective Committee. The Ministers, Advisors, Special Assistants and Parliamentary Secretaries are barred by the Rules to become a member or Chair of a Committee, except Business Advisory & Ethics Committee, Finance Committee and Committee on Law Reforms & Delegated Legislation.
