Control over Budget: Effectiveness of Parliament

Anirudh - March 25, 2010

During the recess, the Departmentally Related Standing Committees of Parliament examine the Demand for Grants submitted by various Ministries. The Demand for Grants are detailed explanations of that Ministry's annual budget which form part of the total budget of the government. These are examined in detail, and the committees can approve of the demands, or suggest changes. The Demand for Grants are finally discussed and voted on by the Parliament after the recess. (The post below lists the ministries whose Demand for Grants will be discussed in detail after the recess). The issue is - how effective is the institution of Parliament in examining the budget? Though India specific information on this subject is hard to find, K. Barraclough and B. Dorotinsky have cited the World Bank - OECD Budget procedures Database to formulate a table on the legislature approving the budget presented by the executive ("The Role of the Legislature in the Budget Process: A Comparative Review", Legislative Oversight and Budgeting). I reproduce the table below:

In Practice, does the legislature generally approve the budget as presented by the Executive? (in percent)
Answer	All Countries	OECD Countries	Presidential democracies	Parliamentary democracies
It generally approves the budget with no changes	34	33	14	41
Minor changes are made (affecting less than 3% of total spending)	63	67	71	59
Major changes are made (affecting more than 3% but less than 20% of total spending)	2	0	7	0
The budget approved is significantly different (affecting more than 20% of total spending)	0	0	0	0
Sources: K. Barraclough and B. Dorotinsky; PRS.

Legislation

Changes recommended by the Standing Committee on Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011

Sana - May 18, 2012

(Co-authored by Sana Gangwani and Pallavi Bedi) The Standing Committee Report on the Land Acquisition and R&R Bill, 2011 was tabled in the Lok Sabha on May 17, 2012. The major changes to the Bill recommended by the Committee include:

Land may not be acquired for use by private companies and PPPs.
The role of the local governments should be expanded and made more participatory in the acquisition and R&R process. The role of Gram Sabhas should not be limited to consultation, but their consent should be obtained at different stages.
The Clause giving wide discretion to the government in notifying any project as infrastructure project should be deleted.
Threshold for R&R provisions should be fixed by the states and not the central government since sale and purchase of land is a state subject in the Constitution (Item 18, State List).
There should be a restriction on the acquisition of agricultural land. The limit on the acquisition of such land should be fixed by the state governments.

For a detailed comparison of the Bill with the recommendations of the Standing Committee see here.

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Control over Budget: Effectiveness of Parliament

Changes recommended by the Standing Committee on Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2011

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