What do you understand by parliamentary forums? What are the functions of these forums?
The meetings of the Parliamentary Forums offer Members an informal forum to familiarise themselves with current issues of interest that would help them to participate effectively in the debates in the Houses or the meetings of Parliamentary Committees.
In contrast to the Parliamentary Committees, which deliberate on a subject selected by them for examination and report during their term. Therefore, the Parliamentary Forums do not prepare or present any Report to the House.
Parliamentary Forums
In the Fourteenth Lok Sabha, the Speaker of Lok Sabha made an observation related to the constitution of a Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation & Management to enable Members to discuss the critical issues relating to water in a structured manner and also to raise the issue more effectively in the House and during the meetings of the Committees.
The first Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation & Management was constituted on 12 August 2005. After that seven more Parliamentary forums were created.
At present, the total number of Parliamentary Forums is eight. These Forums are:
- Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation and Management
- Parliamentary Forum on Children
- Parliamentary Forum on Youth
- Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health
- Parliamentary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change
- Parliamentary Forum on Disaster Management
- Parliamentary Forum on Artisans and Craftspeople
- Parliamentary Forum on Millennium Development Goals
The Parliamentary Forums do not interfere with and encroach upon the jurisdiction of the Departmentally Related Standing Committees and the respective Ministry/Department.
Composition
The guidelines of the respective Forum provide that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the ex-officio President of all the Parliamentary Forums except the Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health.
In the case of the Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha is the ex-officio President, and the Speaker, Lok Sabha is the ex-officio Co-President of the Forum.
Apart from the President, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, the concerned Ministers, and Chairpersons of the respective Departmentally Related Standing Committees are ex-officio Vice-Presidents of the Forum.
Each Forum consists of not more than 31 members (excluding the President, Co-President, and Vice-Presidents).
Out of the total members, not more than 21 are from Lok Sabha and not more than 10 are from Rajya Sabha.
Nomination of Members of the Forums
The members of the Forums are nominated by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The members, as the case may be, from amongst the Leaders of Parties and Groups, or their nominees who have special knowledge/keen interest in the subject.
Experts in their respective fields are also associated with the Forums as Special Invitees who share their views/present papers during the meetings/ seminars of the Forum.
The Secretary-General of Lok Sabha is the Secretary of these Forums and these Forums are serviced by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Term of Office
The term of office of the Members of the Forum is co-terminus with their membership in the respective Houses.
A Member may resign from the Forum by writing under one’s own hand, addressed to the Chairman of Rajya Sabha or the Speaker of Lok Sabha, as the case may be.
Functions of the Forums
Forums perform different functions, a few important functions of different forums are:
Parliamentary Forum on Water Conservation and Management
The functions of the forum are:
- To identify the problems related to Water Conservation and Management and make suggestions/recommendations for consideration.
- To determine the best strategies to involve lawmakers in preserving and enhancing water resources in their respective states and constituencies.
- To organize an awareness workshop/seminar for the conservation and management of water.
Parliamentary Forum on Children
The functions of the forum are:
- To grab the attention of the Parliamentarians toward critical issues related to the children and their well beings and enhance awareness.
- To create a platform for the exchange of ideas, views, experiences, and expert and effective practices in relation to children in a precise manner through seminars/workshops.
- To provide an interface with civil societies to highlight children’s issues effectively that includes media and corporate sectors as well to foster effective strategic partnership.
- To create an interface in a standardized manner with specialized agencies like the UN, UNICEF, and other comparable multilateral agencies.
Parliamentary Forum on Youth
The functions of the forum are:
- To have a focused deliberation on strategies to leverage human capital in the youth for accelerating development initiatives.
- To increase public leaders’ and grassroots understanding of youth’s capacity to bring socioeconomic changes.
- To consider measures for increasing the reach of the parliament to various youth groups in order to strengthen their belief in democratic institutions.
- To consult with experts and national and international academicians on redesigning public policy in the matter of youth empowerment.
Parliamentary Forum on Population and Public Health
The functions of the forum are:
- To conduct focused discussions on population stabilization strategies and issues related to them.
- To discuss and make plans for public health-related issues.
- Raise awareness of population control and public health in all parts of society, especially at the grassroots level.
- To have extensive conversations about population and public health with professionals at the national and international levels, as well as to interact with academics, government organizations, and multilateral organizations like the World Health Organization and the United Nations Population Fund.
Parliamentary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change
The functions of the forum are:
- To identify issues with global warming and climate change and offer advice or recommendations for the government or organizations in question to take into consideration and take appropriate action
- To determine how to involve legislators in discussions with experts from national and international organizations working to combat global warming and climate change in order to accelerate the development of new technology to minimize global warming.
Parliamentary Forum on Disaster Management
The functions of the forum are:
- To identify disaster management-related issues and offer advice or recommendations for the government or organizations involved to lessen the effects of disasters.
- To determine how to involve members of parliament in the development of new technologies to lessen the impact of disasters by interacting with experts from national and international bodies working on disaster management.
- Holding workshops and seminars to educate parliamentarians on the factors that contribute to disasters and their results.
- To determine the best methods for incorporating Parliamentarians in disaster management awareness programs.
Objectives of Parliamentary Forums
The objectives behind the constitution of these Parliamentary Forums are to:
Provide a forum for the Members of Parliament to interact with the relevant Ministers, Experts, and key officials from the nodal Ministries with the aim of having a focused and meaningful discussion on essential topics with a result-oriented approach to speed up the implementation process;
Sensitize the Members of Parliament to the foremost areas of concern as well as the current situation on the ground, and provide them with the most recent data, knowledge, technical know-how, and extremely valuable inputs from experts both nationally and internationally to enable them to effectively raise these issues on the floor of the House and in meetings of Parliamentary Committees;
Create a database by gathering information on important issues from the relevant Ministries, the Internet, NGOs, newspapers, the United Nations, etc., and distributing it to the members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha so they may meaningfully engage in the discussions at the Forum sessions and ask questions of the experts or ministry officials in presence.
Article Written By: Priti Raj
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