Committee system toothless

The committee system has, on the whole, proved ineffective because of some obvious reasons. First, the committees can and do play only a recommendatory role and their suggestions are not binding on the ministries. The committee on the communications ministry found corruption in the setting up of a CNG refuelling station, but no report has yet been submitted on it. The parliamentary committee on the power, energy and mineral resources ministry found gross irregularities in the installation of pipelines in the Bangabandhu Bridge approach, but could not make any headway beyond detecting the same. These are examples of how the idea of keeping an eye on the governmental activities is faltering at every step.

The second problem arises from the fact that most of the chairmen of these committees have been drawn from the ruling party and they seem to be toothless while dealing with the ministers and other influential leaders. Furthermore, the chairmen and members of some important oversight committees are reported to be getting various facilities from the ministries which obligate them to often toe a softer line.

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The JS committees are central to the working of an answerable parliamentary system of government. The committees of the eighth parliament got off to a delayed start because of an opposition boycott which was ended only recently. Structurally, the committees are dominated by the ruling party. Even so, they did well to take up the allegations of corruption and mal-practice; but nothing has been done to make sure that the ministries facing charges of corruption and other anomalies cannot stall the processes of investigation. And the committees do not seem to be tough enough to push through to the end any process they had begun. The government should cooperate in removing some of the limitations that have rendered the parliamentary standing committees ineffective.