As per the new provision, ministers need to answer lawmakers' queries raised at parliamentary meetings with specific replies. And if the questions are in writing, the ministers' answers need to be in writing also.Parliament has tasked the sub-committee headed by UCPN (Maoist) lawmaker Ram Narayan Bidari with formulating new regulations in accordance with the new constitution. The sub-committee submitted the proposed draft to the full committee headed by Radheshyam Adhikari, on Friday.
At present, parliamentary procedures are being conducted according to the interim regulations devised after the promulgation of the new constitution on September 20 last year.
The draft regulations have also proposed that lawmakers should register their questions at least two days before the parliamentary meeting. "Such questions can then be asked at the full House to seek answers from the ministry responsible within a week," said a sub-committee member. The new process will replace the existing hour for discussion of issues of urgent public importance, also known as 'Dhyap-Dhyape hour'.
The sub-committee has proposed that the question-answer session shall not be obstructed at either House. "The proposed regulations envision that the question-answer session will be for an hour and will also allow time for lawmakers not from the government. House business is proposed to be started only after this session is held," said UML lawmaker Rewati Raman Bhandari.
A similar kind of session used to be held at the House of Representatives in 1991, but was later discontinued after the House became defunct, given the sway of the king over governance.
The sub-committee has proposed an additional thematic committee and two special committees in parliament, said its coordinator Bidari. A National Strategic Plan Reconstruction and Disaster Management Committee is proposed for overseeing the activities of the National Planning Commission and the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, as well as the National Reconstruction Authority.
Similarly, an Impeachment Special Committee and a Constitution Implementation and Directive Principles Monitoring Special Committee have been proposed. Amid differing views from the Nepali Congress (NC), the committee has proposed a Hearings Special Committee as per a provision of the new constitution. Members of the committee will be picked based on party strength in parliament.
If the draft regulations are endorsed by the committee and the full House, there will be 12 thematic and three special committees in parliament. The regulations drafting committee will hold discussions on the draft on Sunday, said its chairman. The committee is also planning to ask for a tenure extension of 15 days as its deadline is expiring on Sunday.
The first meeting of parliament had formed the committee with a tenure of one month, starting from the first meeting of the committee. Since the committee started its work only lately, parliament has been running under an interim procedure since the past three months.
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