December 16, 2022
Derek O’Brien’s Special Mention on the need to strengthen the pre-legislative consultative policy
Sir, the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy was adopted in 2014 to ensure public consultation for all legislations. However, the policy has failed to achieve its objective. One, there is no official database on Bills put up for public consultation. Two, according to independent research, only 74 out of 301 Bills introduced in Parliament were circulated for consultation between 2014 and 2021. Of these 74 Bills, at least 40 were not circulated for 30 days, as specified in the Policy. The 2014 Policy stated that the Manual for Parliamentary Procedures, and the instructions on writing Cabinet Notes would be modified to enable public consultation. This has not been done. Sir, through you, I want to request the Government, through this Special Mention, that there is an immediate need to take steps to strengthen the 2014 Policy. The Ministry of Law and Justice must create a public dashboard reflecting the Bills that have been sent for public consultation and also the details of such consultations such as dates, links to draft Bills, etc. Each Minister, while introducing a Bill, should lay a copy of the summary of the Public Consultations, done for 30 days, in the Parliament. If, for some reason, the Bill has not been circulated for comment, the Minister should lay a reason for it. It must be ensured that the Bills that are circulated for comments adhere to the 30-days time limit provided in the Policy. To make public consultation binding on all Ministries, the Manual for Parliamentary Procedures in the Government of India and the instructions issued by the Cabinet Secretariat on writing Cabinet Notes should be modified to incorporate the procedures for this crucial part of legislation, which is public consultation. Thank you, Sir.
