Mumbai: Public faith in political assurances may be low, but the legislative panel overseeing such promises has decided to act firmly. As a result, every Mantralaya department is now setting up permanent committees to ensure that commitments made by their ministers are fulfilled on time.
Following a detailed circular issued last month by the State Parliamentary Affairs Department secretary, every department is now setting up committees headed by their respective secretaries. These panels will focus exclusively on reviewing the assurances their ministers have given on the floor of the House.
The Committee on Assurances, a legislative body that examines the government’s response to issues raised by legislators and the assurances given by ministers, is believed to have expressed strong reservations about the large number of pending assurances. Consequently, the Parliamentary Affairs Department issued a five-page circular directing all state departments to maintain an updated list of the assurances given by their ministers. The list must be updated on the 1st and 15th of every month.
Among the nine points outlined by the Parliamentary Affairs Department, a crucial one is the creation of a permanent committee headed by the departmental secretary and comprising all joint and deputy secretaries. These committees have been instructed to meet every fortnight to review pending assurances and ensure their compliance so that no backlog remains.
A particularly important task assigned to the committees is the review of assurances pending for two years or more. According to the circular signed by Parliamentary Affairs Secretary Satish Waghole, such longstanding assurances must be given priority. The committees are also required to remove from the compiled list any assurances that cannot be fulfilled. In cases where an assurance involves more than one department, the matter must be resolved within 15 days with a clear decision.
As per legislative norms, assurances given by ministers must be fulfilled within 90 days of their pronouncement. If complying with a particular assurance is difficult, the department must bring the matter to the notice of the legislative panel. Additionally, each department has been instructed to complete a prescribed format provided by the Parliamentary Affairs Department.
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