Lazy-faire? 28 state Assemblies met only for 21 days on average in 2022

India has a brand new Parliament building. Enthused about this, many states are planning new Vidhan Sabha structures.

But how much work do state legislatures actually do?

In its latest report, Annual Review of State Laws 2022, released in May, legislative watchdog PRS Legislative Research finds that in 2022, 28 state Assemblies met for 21 days on average.

Between 2016 and 2022, 24 state Assemblies met for an average of 25 days.

Kerala had the highest number of average sitting days at 48 days a year, followed by Odisha (41) and Karnataka (35).

Average sitting days have declined steadily since 2016, with a dip in 2020 due to the pandemic. Sitting days were reduced the most in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa. Haryana, Punjab, and Tripura have not met for more than 20 days in any year since 2016.

The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution had recommended that states set a minimum number of sitting days for state legislatures based on the number of members in the Assembly.

States such as Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh (UP) have mandated a minimum number of sitting days for their legislatures. This has been done through the Rules of Procedure of their Assemblies, or legislation. These limits vary from 35 days in Himachal Pradesh to 90 days in UP. None of these states have met the target since 2016 (from which year data has been collated for these states).

Source: PRS Legislative Research