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CHAPTER XX - COMMITTEES

CHAPTER XX

COMMITTEES

A – STANDING COMMITTEES

161. STANDING COMMITTEES:–

(1) There shall be a Standing Committee for each Department (s) of Government.

(2) Whenever there is any change in the composition of Departments or their nomenclature, the Speaker shall, in consultation with the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs and the Minister concerned, issue suitable directions in regard to the reallocation of the existing Standing Committees or, as the case may be, the modification in their nomenclature and election of the new Standing Committees.

(3) In addition to the Standing Committees constituted under rules 189, 195, 197, 199 and 201, there shall be elected by the Assembly after a general election the following Standing Committees for the duration of the Assembly for the departments noted against each:-

S. NO.	NAME OF THE COMMITTEE	DEPARTMENT
1.	Standing Committee on Agriculture	Agriculture
2.	Standing Committee on Industries and Commerce	Industries and Commerce
3.	Standing Committee on Works & Services	Works& Services
4.	Standing Committee on Cooperatives	Cooperatives
5.	Standing Committee on Culture, Tourism and Antiquities	Culture, Tourism and Antiquities
6.	Standing Committee on Higher, Technical Education and Research, School Education (upto Matriculation) and Special Education	Higher, Technical Education and Research School Education (upto Matriculation) Special Education
7.	Standing Committee on Forest, Wildlife and Environment	Forest, Wildlife and Environment
8.	Standing Committee on Excise, Taxation & Narcotics	Excise, Taxation & Narcotics
9.	Standing Committee on Finance	Finance
10.	Standing Committee on Food	Food
11.	Standing Committee on Livestock & Fisheries	Livestock &Fisheries
12.	Standing Committee on Primary Health (BHU, HRC and Vertical Programmes) and Secondary Health (Rest of Health)	Health
13.	Standing Committee on Home	Home
14.	Standing Committee on Local Government, Rural Development, Public Health Engineering, Housing Town Planning	Local Government, Rural Development, Public Health Engineering, Housing Town Planning
15.	Standing Committee on Information and Archives	Information and Archives
16.	Standing Committee on Information, Science and Technology	Information, Science and Technology
17.	Standing Committee on Irrigation	Irrigation
18.	Standing Committee on Labour and Human Resources	Labour and Human Resources Department
19.	Standing Committee on Law & Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights	Law & Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights
20.	Standing Committee on School Education (upto Matriculation)	School Education (upto Matriculation)
21	Standing Committee on Mines and Minerals	Mines and Mineral
22.	Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives	Planning, Development and Special Initiatives
23.	Standing Committee on Population Welfare	Population Welfare
24.	Standing Committee on Auqaf, Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr	Auqaf, Religious Affairs, Zakat and Ushr
25.	Standing Committee on Revenue, Land Utilization and Relief and Rehabilitation	(i) Revenue, Land Utilization and Relief (ii) Rehabilitation
26.	Standing Committee on Services, General Administration & Coordination Department (Services, GA, I&C & IPC Wings)	Services, General Administration & Coordination Department (Services, GA, I&C & IPC Wings)
27.	Standing Committee on Social Welfare	Social Welfare
28.	Standing Committee on Special Education	Special Education
29.	Standing Committee on Sports and Youth Affairs	Sports and Youth Affairs
30.	Standing Committee on Transport & Mass Transit	Transport& Mass Transit
31.	Standing Committee on Women Development	Women Development
32.	Standing Committee on Energy	Energy including Coal Energy
33.	Standing Committee on Katchi Abadis	Katchi Abadis
34.	Standing Committee on Minorities Affairs	Minorities Affairs

(4) Except as otherwise provided in these rules, a Committee shall only deal with a matter which may be referred to it by the Assembly.

162. COMPOSITION OF STANDING COMMITTEES:–

(1) Each Standing Committee shall consist of eleven members to be elected by the Assembly.

(2) The Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary concerned shall be ex-officio members of the Committee.

(3) The member-in-charge of the Bill, and in the case of any other matter referred by the Assembly to the Standing Committee, the member who has proposed the subject or matter for reference to, or study by, the Committee, may attend the meetings of the Committee but shall not vote unless he is an elected member of the Committee.

(4) The Secretary of the Department concerned and the Secretary of the Law & Parliamentary Affairs Department or an officer designated by each of them in this behalf shall attend the meeting of a Committee as expert advisers.

163. METHOD OF ELECTION:–

(l) Unless otherwise provided in these rules, members of all the Committees shall be elected, as far as possible, in accordance with the agreement of the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition and in the absence of a Leader, his Deputy.

(2) In case there is no agreement mentioned in sub-rule (1), the members of each Committee shall be elected by the Assembly from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Fifth Schedule.

164. CHAIRMAN OF A COMMITTEE:–

(1) The Chairman of a Committee shall be elected by the Committee from amongst the members of the Committee.

(2) If the Chairman is absent from a sitting, the Committee shall choose one of its members present to act as Chairman for that sitting.

165. RESIGNATION:–

(1) A member may resign his membership of the Committee by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker.

(2) The Chairman of a Committee may resign as such by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker.

166. CASUAL VACANCIES:–

(1) Casual vacancies in a Committee shall be filled, as soon as possible after such vacancies occur, in the manner provided in rule 163 or, as the case may be, in rule 164.

(2) A member elected under sub-rule (1), shall hold office for the period for which the member in whose place he is elected would have held office.

(3) Subject to the requirement of a quorum, a Committee shall have power to act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership.

167. FUNCTIONS OF COMMITTEES:–

(l) A Committee shall examine a Bill or other matter referred to it by the Assembly and shall submit its report to the Assembly with such recommendations, including suggestion for legislation, if any, as it may deem necessary.

(2) In the case of a Bill, the Committee shall also examine whether or not the Bill violates, disregards or is otherwise not in accordance with the Constitution.

(3) The Committee may propose such amendments as are within the scope of the Bill, but the Committee shall have no power of preventing the Bill from being considered by the Assembly.

(4) The amendments will be shown in its report along with the original provisions of the Bill.

(5) A Committee may, with the approval of the Speaker, appoint a sub-committee, for a specified function arising out of the matter referred to the Committee.

(6) If a Committee does not present its report within the specified period, or within the extended period, if any, the Bill or the matter referred to it may, on a motion by a member, or a Minister, be considered by the Assembly without waiting for the report.

(7) A Committee may examine the expenditures, administration, delegated legislation, public petitions and policies of the Department concerned and its associated bodies, and may forward reports of findings and recommendations to the Department and the Department shall submit its reply to the Committee within a period of two weeks.

168. REFERENCE TO COMMITTEES:–

The Assembly may, on a motion made by a member, remit to the Committee concerned any subject or matter which may be studied by that Committee.

169. SITTINGS OF COMMITTEES:–

(1) Subject to sub-rule (2), a sitting of a Committee shall be held on such day and at such hour as the Chairman of the Committee, in consultation with the Secretary, may determine.

(2) If the Chairman of a Committee is not readily available, the Secretary may fix the date and time of a sitting:

Provided that the sitting of a Committee for election of its Chairman shall be fixed by the Secretary in consultation with the Speaker.

(3) Subject to sub-rules (4) and (5), the sittings of a Committee shall, so far as possible, continue from day to day till the completion of the business assigned to it.

(4) Unless otherwise permitted by the Speaker, the sittings of the House Committee and the Library Committee shall be held during a session.

(5) The sittings of the Committees shall be held at Karachi.

(6) On a requisition made by three members of the Committee, the Chairman shall call a sitting of the Committee within fourteen days from the date of the receipt of the requisition if some Bill or matter referred to it is pending.

(7) A member who remains absent from the three consecutive meetings without a valid reason, his seat as a member of that Committee shall become vacant.

170. SITTINGS OF COMMITTEES WHILE THE ASSEMBLY IS SITTING:–

(1) A Committee may not meet while the Assembly is sitting except with the approval of the Speaker.

(2) If a Committee is sitting while the Assembly is also sitting, the Chairman of the Committee shall, if a Division is being called in the Assembly, suspend the proceedings of the Committee for such time as will, in his opinion, enable the members to vote in the Division.

171. SITTINGS IN CAMERA:–

The sittings of a Committee shall be held in private unless the Committee, by a majority, decides otherwise.

172. QUORUM:–

(1) The quorum for the election of the Chairman of a Committee shall be the majority of the elected members thereof.

(2) Subject to sub-rule (1), the quorum for a sitting of a Committee shall be three elected members:

Provided that the quorum for a sitting of a Public Accounts Committee or Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges shall be four elected members.

173. VOTING:–

(1) Subject to rule 172, all questions at a sitting of a Committee shall be determined by the majority of its elected members present and voting.

(2) The Chairman or the member presiding in his absence shall not vote except in the event of equality of votes.

174. POWER OF COMMITTEES TO EXAMINE GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND RECORD:–

(1) A Committee shall have power to summon and examine any person and the records of the Government and of statutory bodies, autonomous or semi-autonomous, under the Government:

Provided that a Committee shall have no power to send for any paper or record relating to a proposed taxation.

(2) When a Department is of the opinion that in the interest of security of State or the maintenance of public order or generally in the public interest or on account of any other sufficient reason, any particular record summoned from any office of or authority under the Government or set up or established by the Government should not be furnished to any Committee or a person in the service of the State should not be summoned or compelled to give evidence, the Department may claim privilege for that record or exemption for the public servant, as the case may be:

Provided that in such case the Committee may, through the Speaker, obtain orders of the Chief Minister whether the privilege or exemption, as the case may be, has been properly claimed and the orders of the Chief Minister in this behalf shall be final.

175. EVIDENCE, REPORT AND PROCEEDINGS TREATED CONFIDENTIAL:–

(1) A Committee may direct that the whole or a part of the evidence or a summary thereof may be laid on the Table. If the Committee so decides, the Speaker may direct that such evidence be confidentially made available to members before it is formally laid on the Table.

(2) The part of the evidence, oral or written, report or proceedings of the Committee, which has not been laid on the Table, shall not be open to inspection by any one except under the authority of the Speaker.

(3) The evidence given before a Committee shall not be published by any member of the Committee or by any other person until it has been laid on the Table.

176. VIEWS OF THE DEPARTMENTS ON PRIVATE MEMBER’S BILLS:–

In case of a private member’s Bill referred to a Committee, the Secretary shall transmit a copy of the Bill to the Department concerned with a request for an expression of the views of the Department.

177. RECORD OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEES:–

(1) A summary of the record of the proceedings of each Committee shall be maintained.

(2) The summary of evidence tendered before a Committee shall be made available to a member of the Committee concerned if so requested by him.

178. SPECIAL REPORTS:–

A Committee may, if it thinks fit, make a special report on any matter that arises or comes to light in the course of its work which it may consider necessary to bring to the notice of the Speaker or the Assembly.

179. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES:–

(1) The report of a Committee shall be present within the time-limit fixed by the Speaker under rule 99 or within thirty days from the date on which reference was made to it by the Assembly unless the Assembly, on a motion being made, directs that the time for presentation of the report be extended to a date specified in the motion.

(2) The report shall–

(a) incorporate the views of the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary concerned, if furnished;

(b) set forth the recommendations of the Committee together with the views of the minority, if any; and

(c) be made available, before presenting to the Assembly, to the members of the Committee for signatures or dissenting note or refusal to sign, as the case may be.

180. PRESENTATION OF REPORT:–

(1) The report of a Committee shall be presented to the Assembly by the Chairman or, in his absence, by any other member of the Committee or by the member-in-charge.

(2) The Secretary shall cause every report of the Committee together with the views of the minority, if any, to be printed and a copy thereof shall be made available to the members.

181. AGENDA AND NOTICES OF THE MEETINGS:–

(1) The arrangement of business of a Committee and the agenda for a meeting of the Committee shall be determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee, if readily available.

(2) Notices of all meetings of a Committee shall be sent to the members of the Committee and to the Advocate-General if he is named as a member of the Committee or if his presence is required by the Committee.

182. DECISION OF SPEAKER ON PROCEDURE:–

If any doubt arises on any point of procedure or interpretation of the rules, the Chairman may, if he thinks fit, refer the point to the Speaker whose decision shall be final.

183. BUSINESS BEFORE COMMITTEES NOT TO LAPSE ON PROROGATION OF ASSEMBLY:–

Any business pending before a Committee shall not lapse by reason only of the prorogation of the Assembly and the Committee shall continue to function notwithstanding such prorogation.

184. UNFINISHED WORK OF COMMITTEES:–

A Committee, which is unable to complete its work before the expiration of its term or before the expiration of the term of the Assembly, may report to the Assembly that the Committee has not been able to complete its work. Any report, memorandum or note that the Committee may have prepared, or any evidence that the Committee may have taken, shall be transmitted to the Secretary, who shall make it available to the Committee that succeeds it.

B – SELECT COMMITTEE ON BILLS

185. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) The Minister incharge of the Department to which the Bill relates, the Chairman of the Standing Committee concerned with the Bill, the member-in-charge and the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs shall be included in every Select Committee and it shall not be necessary to include their names in any motion for election of such a Committee.

(2) The other members of the Committee shall be elected by the Assembly when a motion that the Bill be referred to the Select Committee is adopted.

(3) At the time of election of the members of a Select Committee, the number of members whose presence shall be necessary to constitute a sitting of the Committee shall be fixed by the Assembly.

(4) A Minister may be elected as the Chairman of the Committee.

(5) If the Chairman is not present at any sitting, the members of the Committee present shall elect one of its members to act as Chairman for that sitting.

(6) The Chairman, or the member presiding in his absence, shall not vote except in the event of equality of votes.

(7) A Select Committee may hear expert evidence and representatives of special interests affected by the Bill and the Secretary of the Department concerned and the Law Secretary or the officers designated by them shall attend the meeting of the Committee as expert advisers.

186. QUORUM:–

(l) The quorum for a sitting of a Select Committee shall be one-third of the total number of members of the Committee.

(2) If at the time fixed for a sitting of the Select Committee, or at any time during any such sitting, there is no quorum, the Chairman shall either suspend the sitting until a quorum is present or adjourn the sitting to some future day.

(3) If, for want of quorum, the sitting of a Select Committee is adjourned on two successive dates, the next sitting may be held even if the Committee is not in quorum.

187. AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY SELECT COMMITTEE:–

A Select Committee shall have power to propose such amendments in the Bill as are not beyond the scope of the Bill.

188. REPORT:–

(1) A Select Committee shall make a report on the Bill within the period specified by the Assembly.

(2) The report of the Select Committee on a Bill shall be presented to the Assembly by the Chairman or, in his absence, by any other member of the Committee or by the member-in-charge, and there shall be no debate on it at that stage.

(3) The report of a Select Committee along with the dissent notes, if any, shall be printed and a copy thereof shall be made available to the members.

C – PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEES

189. COMPOSITION:–

(1) There shall be constituted, after a general election, a Public Accounts Committee for the duration of the Assembly.

(2) The Committee shall consist of seven members to be elected by the Assembly and the Finance Minister shall be its ex-officio member.

190. FUNCTIONS:–

(1) The Committee shall deal with the Appropriation Accounts of the Government and the report of the Auditor-General thereon, and such other matters as the Assembly or the Speaker or the Finance Minister may refer to the Committee.

(2) Subject to sub-rule (1), the Committee shall deal with the business assigned to them by the Speaker out of the business referred to the Committee under the said sub-rule.

(3) In scrutinizing the Appropriation Accounts of the Government and the report of the Auditor-General thereon, it shall be the duty of the Committees to satisfy themselves that–

(a) the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for, and applicable to, the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged;

(b) the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it; and

(4) It shall also be the duty of the Committee to–

(a) examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of State corporations, trading and manufacturing schemes, concerns and projects together with the balance sheets and statements of profit and loss accounts which the Governor may have required to be prepared or are prepared under the provisions of the statutory rules regulating the financing of a particular corporation, a trading concern or project, and the report of the Auditor-General thereon;

(b) examine the statements of Accounts showing the income and expenditure of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, the audit of which may be conducted by the Auditor-General under the directions of the Governor or under any law; and

(c) consider the report of the Auditor-General in case where the Governor may have required him to conduct the audit of any receipts or to examine the accounts of stores and stocks.

(5) If any money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted by the Assembly for that purpose, the Committee shall examine with reference to the facts of each case the circumstances leading to such an excess and make such recommendations as it may deem fit.

191. REPORTS:–

(1) The report of each Committee shall be presented within a period of one year from the date on which reference is made to it by the Assembly unless the Assembly, on a motion being made, directs that the time for the presentation of the report be extended to a date specified in the motion.

(2) A Committee may present an interim report or a report in parts.

192. SITTINGS:–

(l) The sittings of the Committees shall ordinarily be held at Karachi.

(2) If necessary in the public interest, a sitting may be held outside Karachi, with the prior permission of the Speaker and the Finance Minister.

193. QUORUM:–

(l) The quorum for a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee shall be one-third of the total number of members of the Committee.

(2) If at the time fixed for a sitting of the Public Accounts Committee, or at any time during any such sitting, there is no quorum, the Chairman shall either suspend the sitting until a quorum is present or adjourn the sitting to some future day.

(3) If, for want of quorum, the sitting of a Public Accounts Committee is adjourned on two successive dates, the next sitting may be held even if the Committee is not in quorum.

194. UNFINISHED WORK OF THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE:–

(1) notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, a Public Accounts Committee may proceed from the stage where the previous Committee left the proceedings before the dissolution of the Assembly.

(2) A report or a part of the report of a Public Accounts Committee may be presented before a successor Assembly in accordance with rule 191 even if the time for presentation of the report has expired.

D – COMMITTEE ON RULES OF PROCEDURE AND PRIVILEGES

195. COMPOSITION:–

(1) There shall be a Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges for the duration of the Assembly.

(2) The Committee shall consist of eleven members to be elected by the Assembly and the Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs shall be its ex-officio member.

196. FUNCTIONS:–

The Committee shall –

(a) consider matters of procedure and conduct of business in the Assembly and recommend, such amendments to these rules as may be deemed necessary;

(b) examine any question of privilege referred to it by the Assembly or the Speaker, and determine with reference to the facts of each case whether a breach of privilege is involved and, if so, the nature of the breach and the circumstances leading to it; and make such recommendations as it may deem fit.

E – COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES

197. COMPOSITION:–

The Committee on Government Assurances Committee shall consist of eleven members to be elected by the Assembly for its duration, and Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs shall be its ex-officio member.

198. FUNCTIONS:–

(1) The functions of the Committee would be to take note of and scrutinize the assurances, promises, commitments and undertakings of Government given on the floor of the Assembly, by a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary and to report on all questions relating thereto, which are referred to it under sub-rule (2).

(2) A member who feels that an assurance or a promise given to him or an undertaking made by a Minister or a Parliamentary Secretary has not been implemented within a reasonable time, he may in writing, propose that the matter may be referred to the Committee. If the Speaker is satisfied that a reasonable time has elapsed and that the matter should be enquired into by the Committee, he may refer the matter to the Committee.

(3) The Committee shall scrutinize such assurances, promises and undertakings as are given during the term of the Assembly.

(4) The Committee shall submit its report within such time as may be fixed by the Speaker or as may be extended by him.

F – LIBRARY COMMITTEE

199. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) There shall be a Library Committee consisting of the Deputy Speaker and nine other members to be appointed by the Speaker for the duration of the Assembly.

(2) The Deputy Speaker shall be the Chairman of the Committee.

(3) The casual vacancies in the Committee shall be filled by nomination by the Speaker.

(4) The Committee shall consider and advise on such matters concerning the Library of the Assembly as may, from time to time, be referred to it by the Deputy Speaker.

G – HOUSE COMMITTEE

200. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) There shall be a House Committee consisting of not more than ten members, including the Chairman.

(2) The Committee, including its Chairman, shall be nominated by the Speaker and shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year or until the next Committee is constituted whichever is later.

(3) A member may be re-nominated by the Speaker to the new House Committee.

(4) The House Committee shall deal with all matters connected with the comforts and convenience of the members.

H – FINANCE COMMITTEE

201. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) There shall be a Finance Committee for the duration of the Assembly, consisting of the Speaker, the Finance Minister and seven other members to be elected by the Assembly in the manner prescribed in rule 163.

(2) The Speaker shall be the Chairman and the Secretary shall be the Secretary of the Committee; provided that if the Chairman is absent from any sitting, the Committee shall choose one of its members present to act as Chairman of such sitting.

(3) The Committee shall be responsible for –

(a) preparation of budget and Supplementary Estimates and Demands for excess relating to the Assembly and its Secretariat;

(b) appropriation and re-appropriation;

(c) all financial matters relating to the expenditure of the Assembly and its Secretariat within authorized appropriation;

(d) approve the annual and supplementary budget estimates of the Assembly and its Secretariat which shall respectively be included in the Annual Budget Statement and the Supplementary Budget Statement by Government:

Provided that if at the relevant time, the Assembly stands dissolved or there is no Finance Committee, such approval may be given by the Speaker in anticipation of the approval of the Finance Committee.

(4) The Committee may, from time to time, approve incurring of additional or new expenditure in anticipation of provision of funds, for the Assembly or its Secretariat and the amount or amounts so approved shall be included in the Supplementary Budget.

(5) The Committee may make recommendations in regard to any financial matter relating to the Assembly or its Secretariat referred to it by the Assembly or the Speaker.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in these rules, the procedure of the Committee shall be regulated by the rules made by the Committee and until such rules are made, the business of the Committee shall be conducted in such manner as the Speaker may direct.

I – BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

202. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) On the commencement of the Assembly or from time to time, as the case may be, the Speaker may, in consultation with the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition, nominate a Business Advisory Committee consisting of not more than twelve members including the Speaker who shall be the Chairman of the Committee.

(2) It shall be the function of the Committee to recommend the time that should be allocated for the discussion of the stage or stages of such Government Bills and other business as the Speaker, in consultation with the Leader of the House, may direct for being referred to the Committee.

(3) The Committee shall have the power to indicate in the proposed time table, the different hours at which the various stages of the Bill or other business shall be completed.

(4) The Committee shall have such other functions as may, from time to time, be assigned to it by the Speaker.

J – SPECIAL COMMITTEE

203. COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS:–

(1) The Assembly may, by motion, appoint a Special Committee which shall have such composition and functions as may be specified in the motion.

(2) The Committee shall consist of not more than eleven members excluding the Speaker or a Minister, if any of them is named as a member of the Committee in the motion.

K – GENERAL

204. SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS:–

(1) The rules pertaining to Standing Committees shall apply to any other Committee, if not inconsistent with the rules particularly applicable to that Committee:

Provided that the provisions of sub-rule (2) of rule 162 shall not apply to the Library Committee, the House Committee and the Finance Committee.

(2) Where rules contained in this Chapter are silent on a point, a Committee may refer the matter to the Speaker for his directions for the proper conduct of its proceedings and the directions given by the Speaker shall be followed.