Par debates: Prez for course correction to give adequate time

Inadequate time is being devoted to debates in Parliament on important financial legislations, President Pranab Mukherjee lamented today and asked Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to find ways to undertake the "course correction".
Studies conducted by Parliament itself has indicated that the time devoted for legislations in the first, second, third and fourth Lok Sabha for disposing off financial matters were much more compared to the later Parliaments, he said while inaugurating the conference of Accountants General here.
Drawing attention of the Lok Sabha Speaker, he said he would take the opportunity of sharing his "concern" that Parliament is not devoting adequate time while sanctioning money and imposing taxes.

More time should be devoted for scrutiny of the law and for scrutiny of expenditure proposals, he said, adding that three committees of Parliament - PAC, Estimates Committee and Committee on Public Undertakings -- look into the aspect of how monet was spent, how the resources are utilised, how the resources are mobilised.
"I do feel that time has arisen to take some corrective courses... Therefore, effective functioning of these three legislative committees and close association between them and the audit authority are a blueprint of audit effectiveness," said Mukherjee, who has been a veteran Parliamentarian before becoming the President in 2012.

Noting that "in a parliamentary democracy like ours, the executive is held accountable to the legislature", he said, "the reports of the CAG submitted to the legislature play a seminal role in the enforcement of accountability".
Speaking on the occasion, the Lok Sabha Speaker said to encourage reform and innovation, CAG reports should also highlight best practices and notable achievements of an organisation.