Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 19: For fifth year in a row, which also happened to be the penultimate year of the present coalition dispensation of National Conference and Congress, there would be no third session of the Legislature in the State notwithstanding categorical recommendation of a high level State Legislature Committee recently that Jammu and Kashmir should follow the Parliament and other State Assemblies to hold at least three sessions a year.
Official sources told the Excelsior that a high level Ethics Committee of the State Legislature in its recent recommendations had favoured increasing number of the sittings of the two Houses and number of sessions from two to three in a year. A Standing Parliamentary Committee had already favoured that the Parliament and the State Assemblies should have at least 100 sittings in a year.
The logic of both the Committees of Parliament and Legislature behind increasing number of the sittings and sessions was to give more chance to the legislators to highlight issues of the people, to whom they represent in the Houses.
The Ethic Committee of the State Legislature had also given its findings recently stressing the need for increasing number of sessions from two to three and sittings to the maximum possible extent so that the legislators get enough time to take up the issues pertaining to the State, their constituencies and the people.
Noting that recommendations of the Ethic Committee were not mandatory, sources said, they did matter as the Committee was constituted by no less a person than the Speaker and comprised legislators as the members. Moreover, they added, the House didn’t adopt recommendations of the Committee.
They pointed out that it was not only the Ethics Committee of the State Legislature but a Standing Committee of Parliament has already proposed that the Parliament and the State Legislature should meet for at least 100 days in a year.
While the Parliament and most of the State Assemblies hold three sessions in a year—the budget session, Monsoon session and winter session, in Jammu and Kashmir only two sessions—the budget and Monsoon are held while the winter session is skipped. Moreover, the sittings of the Monsoon session are confined to just seven or eight taking total sitting in a year (including 26 to 27 days of working of the budget session) to a maximum of 35, which were nearly one-third of 100 sittings proposed by the Parliamentary Panel.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had himself stated in the Assembly in 2010 budget session of the Legislature that his Government would like to hold three sessions of the Legislature in a year. Former Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone, who was inducted as Higher Education Minister on January 15 this year, had also favoured the idea and wanted number of the sessions to be increased from two to three.
However, the proposal didn’t mature.
According to sources, the Government was of the view that there was limited working season in some of the hilly districts of the State. Entire political leadership and administration get busy in the Legislature session, which could mar the prospectus of development during the winter, they said, adding this was the main reason that the Government was reluctant to hold third session of the Legislature in a year.
However, it was supportive of the proposal of an increase in number of the sittings in a year especially in the Monsoon session, which is held in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State for just 7 to 8 days. It was of the view that the sitting could be doubled if there was a consensus. It was satisfied with number of sitting in the budget session, which is held in Jammu, the winter capital of the State, with 26-27 working days including over a dozen days as double sittings.
Sources said the Government would take a final decision on increasing sittings of the Monsoon session in the Cabinet at a later date.
Worthwhile to mention here that this happened to be penultimate year of present NC-Congress ruling dispensation as the State would go to Assembly elections next year.
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