New Delhi: Parliament sat for a total of 73
days last year in three sessions but 258 of the 803 hours
earmarked for business were lost due to disruptions over
several issues, including price rise and corruption.
According to a study by PRS Legislative Research, Lok
Sabha is scheduled to sit for six hours a day and Rajya Sabha
for five hours. It meant that the Lower House had 438 hours
and the Upper House 365 hours to transact business.
"Out of the available time, approximately 30 per cent
time was lost to disruptions in Lok Sabha and 35 per cent in
Rajya Sabha," the study said.
However, on a positive note, it said Parliament fared
better in 2011 compared to 2010 as one session was completely
washed out then.
"Productive time in 2011 in Lok Sabha was 70 per cent
while in 2010, it was 57 per cent," it said, adding out of 54
bills listed for consideration and passing, 28 were passed.
Interestingly, in Lok Sabha, 18 per cent of the bills
were passed in less than five minutes like Chartered
Accountants (Amendment) Bill, 2010 and National Capital
Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Bill, 2011.
Presently, 97 bills are pending before Parliament for
passage, which includes the contentious Lokpal Bill, Judicial
Accountability Bill, Land Acquisition Bill, Direct Tax Code
Bill and the UID Bill, among others.
The study said that time allotted to Question Hour was
often lost owing to disruptions in both the Houses.
Though Rajya Sabha tried to experiment with shifting the
Question Hour to 2 pm, the change did not bring any
improvement in the functioning of Question Hour. As a result
it was moved back to 11 am.
PTI
