Bihar Speaker tells departments to submit timely replies to members’ questions

The Speaker has also called for a meeting on Wednesday with the nodal officers of all the departments and the principal secretary, parliamentary affairs department to underline the importance of timely replies to questions.

Bihar assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha has asked all the government departments to furnish timely replies to questions asked by members, bringing the spotlight to an important tool of ensuring government's accountability ahead of the Budget session starting February 19.

The budget session of the Bihar assembly is set to begin from February 19

“A lot of money from the consolidated fund is spent on holding House sessions. If the answers to the questions raised by the members are still not made available on time, it amounts to misutilisation of funds. Besides, it also leads to criticism of the government, which is accountable to the Vidhan Sabha,” said Sinha.

The Speaker has also called for a meeting on Wednesday with the nodal officers of all the departments and the principal secretary, parliamentary affairs department to underline the importance of timely replies to questions.

Sinha said timely replies to questions will give an opportunity to the members to ask related supplementary questions on issues of public importance. ”This is important to create an atmosphere for meaningful discussions and debates, which is the essence of a healthy democratic system,” he added.

The Speaker is quite particular about timely replies, according to a senior official of the assembly secretariat. “Many a time, replies come, but quite late or after the session. Usually, on a day not more than 40-50 questions are taken up in the house during the Question Hour, but the actual number is quite high and the replies need to reach the concerned members and also the media,” he added.

For the 104 first-time members in the newly-elected assembly, the month-long Budget session will provide a first-hand experience of the legislative practices. The Speaker got a helpdesk set up earlier this month in the assembly secretariat to help them.

Since 2018, Bihar assembly has implemented online questions and replies management system which refers questions posted online to concerned departments for replies.

The forthcoming Budget session will have 22 sittings, exactly the same as the 2020 Budget session. It will feature debates on the budgetary demands of various departments. Some important bills will also be tabled during the session.

Last year, the Budget session had come to a premature end in view of the health emergency triggered by the outbreak of Coronavirus.

The inaugural five-day session of the 17th Vidhan Sabha was held from November 23-27 at the Central Hall. However, the Budget session will be held in the Vidhan Sabha building.

On the first day itself, two important ordinances – one on commercial taxes and another on the state higher education council (SHEC) – will be tabled. After that the economic survey will be laid on the floor of the House. The state budget will be presented on the following working day -February 22. Deputy chief minister Tar Kishore Prasad, who is also the finance minister, will table the Budget for the first time.