Despite ‘The Karnataka Conduct of Business in the State Legislature Act’, the present legislature falls short to meet the stipulation that it should meet for at least 60 days in a year.
The legislative assembly met for 42 days and the council for 43 days this year. With ensuing winters session to meet here for ten working days, from Dec 9 to Dec 20, the total sittings of the assembly would be 52 and 53 days of the council. This was still close to 60 days mark, said Legislative Council Chairman D.H. Shankaramurthy.
Speaking to presspersons after reviewing preparations for the winter session at the Suvarna Vidhana Souha here on Friday, he recalled here that the Act was enacted when H.K. Patil was Law and Parliamentary Minister in 2005, as there were growing concerns on the dwindling figures. The legislature had met for 76 or 77 days when late Ramkrishna Hegde was chief minister. Thereafter, the session showed a declining trend.
“We should not violate that law made by us; chairpersons of the assembly and council are keen to see that both the houses met for at least 60 days in a year as stipulated in the Act. But, the situation was not all that bad as we are close to 60 mark.”
He said certain steps had been taken to improve the attendance for the session and quality of proceedings during the winter session, even as he maintained that the attendance was normally more than 50% in the upper house on any given day during the session.
On the delay in construction legislature home adjacent to the SVS here, he said none came forward when it was proposed to be taken up on the ‘PPP model’. However, in view of the shortage of accommodation in hotels and guest houses, arrangements for nearly 200 legislators would be made at Belagavi and the rest 100 at Hubbali.
On the proposed austerity measures, which included working lunch for all, he said there was no fixed limit but austerity was good.
