Bhopal, July 14 (IANS) The Assembly Speakers of seven states held their first meeting at Madhya Pradesh Vidhan Sabha on Monday.

The meeting held at the conference hall of the state Legislative Assembly witnessed discussions on strengthening the functioning and relevance of legislative committees in the parliamentary system.

The meeting was presided over by Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar.

The Speakers from six other states who participated in the meeting were Satish Mahana (UP), Vasudev Devnani (Rajasthan), Kuldeep Singh Pathania (Himachal Pradesh), Biman Banerjee (West Bengal), Surama Padhy (Odisha), and Mingma Norbu Sherpa (Sikkim).

The secretaries of these seven states’ Assemblies and some other senior officials also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, Tomar highlighted the importance of committees in overseeing parliamentary work. He said that the committee functions as a legislative arm when the Assembly are not in session; therefore, each committee has a vital and crucial role to play.

“With a growing population and technology, committees and smaller groups discuss issues, innovations, and ensure the timely implementation of recommendations by state and central governments for effective governance,” Tomar said.

He further stated that India’s legislative framework, legislators, and Parliament hold significant responsibility. He said that the committee system was adopted because discussion on every subject is not possible.

“Our predecessors adopted the committee system for a detailed scrutiny of every important subject raised by the legislators. The committees conduct a deep study and recommend suggestions before presenting them in the House,” Tomar said.

Tomar further informed that Madhya Pradesh has four elected financial committees. While two more committees – one that looks after specifically the Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC), and the other one for Other Backward Class (OBC).

Madhya Pradesh has 15 nominated committees, comprising the members of the ruling and opposition parties. These committees are responsible for conducting field visits, inspections and policy review, he added.

–IANS

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