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Functioning of the 15th Punjab Assembly

Functioning of the 15th Punjab Assembly 

Elections for the 16th Punjab Assembly will be held on February 20, 2022.  The 15th Assembly held its sessions between March 2017 and November 2021.  This note analyses the working of the 15th Punjab Assembly up to November 11, 2021.   Due to unavailability of data (except for sitting days), this note does not cover the first and the second session of 2017.

The Assembly met for 14 days a year on average
  • The Assembly held 16 sessions between March 2017 and November 2021 with 68 sitting days.  The highest number of sittings in a full year during this term was 15 (in 2019).    
     
  • The Punjab Assembly Rules of Procedures require the Assembly to sit for at least 40 days in a financial year.  The Assembly did not fulfil this criterion throughout this term.  The highest number of sittings in a financial year during this term was 20 (during 2017-18).  
     
  • 56% of total sittings of the Assembly (38 days) were during budget sessions.  Except during Monsoon Session of 2017 (eight days), the Assembly did not meet for more than three days during any of its monsoon or winter sessions. 

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  • Over the years, sitting days of Assembly have reduced.  The highest number of sitting days in a year was 42 (in 1967).  The Assembly has not met for more than 20 days in a year even once since 1997.          

imageNote: *President’s rule was in place for some part of the year or the entire year.

On average, Assembly functioned for 71% of the scheduled time on the days it met
  • As per the Rules of Procedures of the Assembly, a sitting is scheduled to be 4.5 hours long.  During the 15th term, the Assembly functioned for 71% of the scheduled hours.  
     
  • An average sitting was 3.6 hours long, almost an hour less than the expected 4.5 hours.  The Assembly met for 4.5 hours or more during 28 sittings, which is less than half of its total sittings.
     
  • The Assembly met for 40% and 56% of the scheduled hours during the monsoon and winter sessions of 2020, with the Assembly meeting for one and three days during those sessions, respectively.  These two sessions were held following the onset of COVID-19- induced lockdown in March 2020.

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All 117 Bills were passed on the same day they were introduced  
  • Until November 2021, the Assembly introduced and passed 117 bills.  All these bills were passed on the same day they were introduced.
     
  • In its last sitting on November 11, 2021, the Assembly introduced and passed 16 Bills in a single day.  The Assembly functioned for about eight hours on that day.  The Punjab Energy Security, Reform, Termination, and Re-determination of Tariff Bill, 2021, and the Punjab Renewable Energy Security, Reform, Termination, and Re-determination of Tariff Bill, 2021 were among the key Bills passed.

imageNote: Does not include Appropriation Bills.
  • Key legislations passed during this term include three Bills to amend the central farm laws (passed by Parliament in September 2020 and repealed in December 2021) in its scope of application to Punjab, the Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages (Amendment) Bill, 2021, the Punjab Right to Business Bill, 2020, and the Punjab Social Security Bill, 2018.

Certain key legislative changes in response to COVID brought through Ordinances
  • In response to COVID-19, the Punjab Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2020 was enacted to bring private clinical establishments under regulation to be utilised in case of natural disasters and pandemics.  The Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Amendment Act, 2020 was also enacted to extend the parole of prisoners in case of emergencies.    Both these laws were first promulgated as Ordinances.  Article 213 of the Indian Constitution allows the Governor to promulgate an Ordinance when the Legislature is not in session, in case of a need for an immediate action.  The Ordinance has to be approved by the Assembly within six weeks of the commencement of the next session. 

During six sessions, no starred questions were taken up
  • Starred questions refer to questions to which the concerned Minister has to respond orally in the House.  When called by the Speaker, any member can ask a supplementary question in continuation to a starred question.
     
  • During the Budget session held in March 2018, 104 starred questions were answered which was the highest for any session during this term.
     
  • There were six sessions during which no starred questions were taken up.  One of these was a Special session held in January 2020 while all other sessions were either monsoon or winter sessions.

imageNote: The above chart does not cover questions for sessions held in first and second session of 2017, and third session of 2018.

Sources: Punjab Assembly website, Assembly Bulletins and Rules of Procedure.  The bulletins for first and second sessions of 2017, and the third session of 2018 were not available on the Assembly website; PRS.
     

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