ശരാശരി 3 ചോദ്യങ്ങള് എല്ലാ പരീക്ഷയ്ക്കും ഈ അധ്യായത്തില് നിന്നും ചോദിച്ചുകാണുന്നു
CHAPTER 34
FINANCIAL
COMMITTEES
While the
initiative in finance and the formulation of policies and finance is held by
the Executive, the complementary function of critical scrutiny of such policies
and control of the Executive is performed by Parliament. Though Parliament
itself does not govern the country, it exercises supervision over executive
action in various ways through the purposive use of Parliamentary procedures
and a system of Committees.
There in no
Constitutional provision for the Committees of Parliament. It is a matter of Parliamentary procedure and
conduct of its business. Under Article 118 (1) of the Constitution, the Rules
of Procedure and Conduct of Business of each House of Parliament have been
framed and several Parliamentary Committees have been constituted under these
Rules. A Parliamentary Committee is a Committee which is appointed or elected
by the House or nominated by the Presiding Officer of the House and which works
under the direction of the Presiding Officer and the secretariat for which is
provided by the Secretariat of the House. Parliamentary Committees may be
standing committees or Adhoc Committees. Adhoc Committees become functus
officio as soon as they have completed their work. Standing Committees
are those which are elected or nominated every year and from time to time and
are permanent Committees. Important among the Standing Committees are the
Financial Committees of the Lok Sabha, viz. the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates
Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
Public Accounts Committee
34.2 Parliament having approved the proposals of
the Executive in regard to resource mobilization and expenditure expects in due
course detailed accounts duly audited by the independent Constitutional
authority, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, It is difficult, if
not impossible for Parliament to examine the Accounts and Audit Reports which
are complex and technical; further it cannot spare the time required for such
an examination. The Committee on Public Accounts has been constituted for this
purpose.
The scope
and functions of the Committee on Public Accounts are set out below:
The
Committee examines the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by
the House for the expenditure of the Government of India, the annual finance
accounts of the Government of India and such other accounts laid before the
House as the Committee may think fit.
In
scrutinising the Appropriation Accounts of the Government of India and the
Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon, it is the duty of the
Committee to satisfy itself:
(a) that the moneys shown in the accounts as
having been disbursed were legally available for, and applicable to, the
service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged;
(b) that the expenditure conforms to the
authority which governs it; and
(c) that every reappropriation has been made in
accordance with the provisions made in this behalf under rules framed by
competent authority.
It is also the duty of Committee:
(a) to examine the statement of accounts showing
the income and expenditure of state corporations, trading and manufacturing
schemes, concerns and projects together with the balance sheets and statements
of profit and loss accounts which the President may have required to be
prepared or are prepared under the provisions of the statutory rules regulating
the financing of a particular corporation, trading or manufacturing scheme or
concern or project and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
thereon;
(b) to examine the statement of accounts showing
the income and expenditure of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, the audit
of which may be conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
either under the direction of the President or by a statute of Parliament; and
(c) to consider the report of the Comptroller
and Auditor General on audit of receipts and of stores and stocks.
If any money has been spent on any service
during a financial year in excess of the amount granted by the House for that
purpose, the Committee examines with reference to the facts of each case the
circumstances leading to such an excess and makes such recommendation as it may
deem fit.
The
Committee does not exercise its functions in relation to such public
undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on public Undertakings.
The
Committee(=PAC) looks into cases of loss, inefficiency, ineffectiveness or extravagance
and calls upon the Government to explain what action, disciplinary or
otherwise, it has taken to prevent recurrence. The committee may express
disapproval of or pass strictures against extravagance or lack of proper
control by the Government. The Committee is not concerned with the question of
policy in the broad sense. As a rule it expresses no opinion on points of
general policy, but it is within its jurisdiction to point out whether there
has been extravagance or waste in carrying out that policy, the Committee
examines the system of checks and balances obtaining in the Government. It
usually concentrates more on general control to secure economy and
effectiveness, and leaves the question of internal administration to the
Ministry concerned.
Estimates Committee
34.3 The Lok Sabha, even though it discusses the
estimates for a sufficiently long period, finds nevertheless that is has
neither the time nor the flexibility to discuss the details and the technical
aspects of the estimates. A Committee on
Estimates was therefore constituted for this purpose in 1950.
The
Committee examines such of the estimates as may seem fit to the Committee or
are specifically referred to it by the House or the Speaker, with a view:
(a) to report that economies, improvements in
organization, efficiency or administrative reforms, consistent with the policy
underlying the estimates may be effected;
(b) to suggest alternative policies in order to
bring about efficiency and economy in administration;
(c) to examine whether the money is well laid
out within the limit of the policy implied in the estimates; and
(d) to suggest the form in which the estimates
shall be presented to Parliament.
The Committee does not exercise its functions in
relation to such Public Undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on Public
Undertakings by the Rules of Procedure or by the Speaker.
The
Committee may call for details of expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund
of India and scrutinize whether the classification of items of expenditure
between ‘Voted’ and ‘Charged’ has been done strictly in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution and Acts of Parliament.
The
Committee does not go into or comment on a policy approved by Parliament, but
where it is established on evidence that a particular policy is not leading to
the expected or desired results, or is leading to waste, it is the duty of the
Committee to bring it to the notice of the House that a change in policy would
be desirable. Under a direction of the Speaker, the Committee examines the
estimates of Defence Ministry through a sub-Committee.
Committee on Public Undertakings
34.4 Public enterprises are financed from Public
funds. It follows that they must function within the confines of public
accountability. This is ensured by Parliament through the Committee on Public
Undertakings which is the youngest of the Financial Committees and was set up
in May 1964. Prior to the Constitution of this Committee, the Public Accounts
Committee considered the Reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General on
Public Undertakings and the Estimates Committee examined in general the
individual undertakings and the different aspects of functioning of all
Undertakings.
The
functions of the Committee are:
(a) to examine the reports and accounts of the
public undertakings specified in Fourth Schedule of the Rules.
(b) to examine the reports, if any, of the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the public undertakings.
(c) to examine in the context of the autonomy
and efficiency of the public undertakings whether the affairs of the public
undertakings are being managed in accordance with sound business principles and
prudent commercial practices, and
(d) to exercise such other functions vested in
the Committee on Public Accounts and the Committee on Estimates in relation to
the public undertakings specified in the Fourth Schedule as are not covered by
clauses (a), (b) and (c) above and as may be allotted to the Committee by the
Speaker from time to time.
The Committee is, however, precluded from
examination and investigation of any of the followings:
(i) matters of major government policy as
distinct from business or commercial functions of the public undertakings;
(ii) matters of day-to-day administration;
and
(iii) matters for the consideration of which
machinery is established by any special statute under which a particular public
undertaking is established.
Every government company whose annual report is
placed before the Houses of Parliament is within the purview of the Committee.
In other words, all government companies incorporated under the Companies Act
in which Central Government is a member could be examined by the Committee.
This is not the case with the Public Undertakings established by Special
Central Acts. Only those undertakings which are specifically allotted could be
examined by the Committee.
The
emphasis of the Committee is on providing a broad and general review of an
enterprise so as to present an overall picture rather than dealing with
individual mistakes.
Composition
and Tenure of the Financial Committees
Powers, Privileges and Obligations of the Committees
30.6 The powers, privileges and obligations of
the Committees are derived from the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure and
Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha and the directions of the Speaker. Certain
conventions have also developed over time. The Committees are empowered to send
for persons, papers and records unless it is certified by the Minister
concerned that disclosure of document would be prejudicial to the safety and
interest of the State. The Chairman finally decides as to whether a particular
document or information, which is held to be secret, need be called for from
Government and whether such information or document need be made available to
all the Members of the Committee. The Committee may, with the approval of the
Speaker, undertake tours for on the spot study. The Committees on Public
Accounts and Public Undertakings are assisted by the Comptroller and Auditor
General and his representatives. Matters under examination of the Committees
are not ordinarily raised in the House through questions and motions. No
minutes of dissent is allowed in the Reports of the Committee .Government
should report only to the Committees the action taken on their Reports. The
Reports of the Committee are not generally discussed in the House. A Member of
a Committee having personal, pecuniary or direct interest in any matter to be
considered by the Committee has to disclose his interest to the Speaker and
abide by his decision. Where the Speaker considers it inappropriate that a
Member of the Committee should be associated with a Government Committee he
should, if so required by the Speaker, resign the membership of the latter
Committee. Under Article 105 of the
Constitution, no member of a Committee shall be liable to any proceedings in any Court in respect of anything said or
any vote given by him in the Committee and no person shall be so liable in
respect of publication by or under authority of Parliament of any report, paper
or proceedings.
Each of
these committees can be described as the parliament in miniature. They
function on non party lines and bring to
bear on their work an objective examination of issues, uninfluenced by any
extraneous consideration.
Sittings of the Committees
34.7 The sittings of the Financial Committees
are held within the precincts പരിസരംof the
Parliament House. The sittings are held in private. All persons other than
Members of the Committees and officers of the Lok Sabha Secretariat withdraw
whenever the Committees are deliberatingആലോചിക്കുന്നു. The quorum to constitute a sitting of
a Committee shall be, as near as may be, one-third of the total number of
Members of the Committee. As a convention the quorum is not insisted upon at
the commencement of a sitting held for taking evidence as no discussions are
taken at such sittings. It is necessary, however, that there should be quorum
when a sitting is held to consider and adopt a draft Report or select subjects
for examination or settle Programme of work, tour, etc.
Examination and Reports
34.8 At the beginning of the tenure, the
Committee select subjects for examination during the year. Thereafter
preliminary information is obtained from the Ministries/ Public Undertakings
concerned. The Committees on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings also get
Memoranda of Important Points from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s
office. For examination of the subjects selected, the Committees divide
themselves into convenient number of Working/Study Groups. The Committees
examination is mainly at their sittings when the officials/non-officials tender
evidence. In view of the autonomy of Public Undertakings the Committee on
Public Undertakings take the evidence of the Management and the Administrative
Ministry separately. The witnesses are expected to observe due decorum and
etiquette. A verbatim record of proceedings of each sitting of the
Committees/sub-Committee, where evidence is taken, is kept by the Secretariat.
The proceedings of the Committee are treated as confidential.
A procedure
has been evolved whereby the Committees on Public Accounts and Public
Undertakings get a feed back from the Ministries regarding the action taken on
all the Audit Reports irrespective of the fact that the Committees have not
considered all the issues raised in the Audit Reports in detail.
After the
Committees complete the examination of a subject, conclusions and
recommendations are formulated. The draft Report, after approval of the
Chairman, is placed before the Committee concerned for adoption with such
modification as it may make. The draft Report is also factually verified by the
Audit in the case of Public Accounts Committee Reports and by the Ministry or
the Public Undertaking in the case of Committees on Estimates and Public
Undertakings. The Chairman authenticates the Report and presents to Lok Sabha.
The Reports of the Committee on Public Accounts and Public Undertakings are
also laid before Rajya Sabha by a Member of the respective Committee as
authorized by the Committee/ Chairman. The Ministries concerned are required to
inform Lok Sabha Secretariat of the action taken by them on the recommendations
of the Committees contained in each Report within a period of six months. After
considering the Action Taken Notes of the Ministries, the Committees further
report to the House. Any area of divergence of views between the Committees and
Government could then be raised in the House.
Committees of State/Union Territory Legislatures
34.9 The legislatures of States and Union Territories have similar
committees system. There are generally separate committees on Public Accounts
and Public Undertakings where there is no separate committee on Public
Undertakings the committee on Public Accounts examines the accounts and
consider reports relating to Public Undertakings also.
Relationship with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
There is no
bar to the Committees examining matters not specifically covered by the Reports
of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. However, it is the convention
that the Comptroller and Auditor General and his officers assist the Committees
only when matters arising out of the Audit Reports are examined by them and for
the rest they proceed on their own. Whenever the Committees desire a matter to
be investigated by the Comptroller and Auditor General, they route their requests
through Government and the Comptroller and Auditor General in his discretion
includes the results of such investigation in his reports submitted to the
President, Governor or Administrator and laid before Parliament or the
Legislature as the case may be.