14. COMMITTEE SECTION (T&T)

Transcription

1 14. COMMITTEE SECTION (T&T) 14.1 Functions of the Section: The Committee Section (Transport & Tourism) deals with the work pertaining to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and provides all the necessary secretarial assistance in the discharge of its Parliamentary responsibilities. The Committee consisted of thirty one (31) Members of Parliament i.e. ten (10) from Rajya Sabha and twenty one (21) from Lok Sabha. Rules 268 to 277 and 74 to 92 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Council of States apply to this Committee The following Ministries fall within the purview of the Committee:- (a) MINISTRY OF CIVIL AVIATION (b) MINISTRY OF CULTURE (c) MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS (d) MINISTRY OF SHIPPING (e) MINISTRY OF TOURISM The functions assigned to the Committee, as enumerated in Rule 270 supra, are- (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) consideration of Demands for Grants of the related Ministries examination of Bills pertaining to the related Ministries when referred to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker; consideration of Annual Reports of the related Ministries; and basic long-term policy documents presented to the Houses, if referred to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker, as the case may be, and report thereon Term of the Committee: The Committee was re-constituted w.e.f. 31 st August 2010 under the Chairmanship of Shri Sitaram Yechury, M.P. Rajya Sabha Consideration of Demands for Grants ( ): The Committee examined the Demands for Grants for the year in respect of the concerned Ministry and presented five Reports to Parliament during the Budget Session In the course of examination of Demands for Grants ( ), the Committee heard the Road Transport and Highways on 22 nd March, 2010 and Secretaries, Ministries of Tourism and Shipping on 26 th March The oral evidence of Secretaries, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Civil was held on the 7 th April, Action Taken Notes - Action Taken Replies on the recommendations/observations contained in the 131 st, 140 th, 141 st, 142 nd and 149 th Reports were presented by the Committee to Parliament during the year Since the 131 st, 141 st and 142 nd reports were on the same subject, the Committee presented one Action Taken Report i.e. 159 th Report. The Committee presented 152 nd and 153 rd Action Taken Reports on the 140 th and 149 th Reports respectively Examination of the Bills - During the year, two Bills were considered by the Committee whose details are given in the succeeding paragraphs The National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, 2010 was referred to the Committee on 22 nd May, 2010 for examination and report within three months. To have wider views on the subject, the Committee invited comments/suggestions from interested individuals/organizations/stakeholders on the provisions of the Bill and issued a press release. The Committee received a number of comments from individuals/organizations. The Committee heard the officials of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and various other stakeholders on the provisions of the Bill. The Committee presented the 160 th Report on the Bill to the Parliament on the 28 th July,

2 The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010 was referred to the Committee on the 20 th August, 2010 for examination and report within three months. To have wider views on the subject, the Committee invited comments/suggestions from interested individuals/organizations/stakeholders on the provisions of the Bill and issued a press release. The Committee held discussion with the officials of the Ministry of Civil and presented the 161 st Report on the Bill to Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha on the 18 October, Consideration of General Subjects: During the year, the Committee selected three subjects for consideration and report. The details of the subjects have been given in the succeeding paragraphs: The Committee took up the subject Merger of Indian Airlines and Air India: Its impact on the Civil Sector for consideration. The Committee heard the Civil on the subject. The Committee presented the 151 st Report on the subject to the Hon'ble Chairman on the 19 th January, 2010 and a Press Conference was held. The Report received wide media coverage The Committee took up the subject "Functioning of Directorate General of Civil and Helicopter Operations in the Country" for consideration. To have wider views on the subject, the Committee invited comments/suggestions from interested individuals/organizations/stakeholders on the subject and issued a press release. The Committee received a number of comments from individuals/organizations. The Committee heard the Civil, Director General of Civil, CMD, Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited and Rotary Wing Society of India on the subject and it is still under examination The Committee took up for consideration the subject 'Functioning of National Museum' and visited the Museum on 14 th September, Thereafter, the Committee heard the officials of Ministry of Culture and CPWD on the subject. The subject is under consideration The Committee took up for consideration the subject 'Modernisation of Major Ports' and heard the officials of Ministries of Shipping, Road Transport and Railways on modernisation and connectivity aspects to ports. The Committee undertook study visit to major ports and the report is under preparation Sub-Committees: No Sub-Committee was constituted by the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture during the year Tours/Visits: The Committee undertook two study visits during the year 2010, first from 15 th September to 22 nd September, 2010 to Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi and second from 27 th October to 3 rd November, 2010: Destination Date Organisation Examined Subject 15 th September to 22 nd September, 2010 Kolkata, Chennai and Kochi Bhubaneswar, Mumbai and Visakhapatnam 27 October to 3 rd November, 2010 Chennai, Ennore, Kolkata, Haldia & Kochi Ports and Cochin Shipyard Ltd. Paradip, JNPT, Mumbai, New Mangalore, Murmagoan, Kandla and Visakhapatnam Ports Modernisation of Ports Phase-I Modernisation of Ports Phase II During the year 2010, the Committee undertook two local visits : (i) Indira Gandhi International Airport (Terminal -3) on 8 th July, 2010, and (ii) National Museum and Red Fort on 14 th September,

3 14.8 Meetings and Reports:- The Committee held, in all, 16 meetings during the year 2010 spread over 31 hours 40 minutes, whereas in the year 2009, 10 meetings were held over 19 hours 25 Minutes. LIST OF MEETINGS FOR THE YEAR 2010 Sl. Date of Main Item of Agenda Evidence taken, If any Time devoted No. Meeting Hrs. Min Considered and adopted of the draft Shri M. Madhavan st Report on the Functioning and Nambiar, Secretary, Performance of NACIL, (II) & heard the Ministry of Civil views of the Civil on the Functioning of DGCA and helicopter operations in India Heard the views of the Secretary, Shri K. Mohandas, Ministry of Shipping on the General overview of the development and Shipping modernization of Shipping Sector in the country. Considered and adopted of the draft report on Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations/Observations of the Forty Ninth Report on Development of Tourism Infrastructure and Amenities for the Commonwealth Games Considered and adopted of the draft report on Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations/Observations of the and Fortieth Report on Promotion of Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir Oral evidence of Road Transport and Highways on Demands for Grants ( ) Oral evidence of Tourism on Demands for Grants ( ) Oral evidence of Shipping on Demands for Grants ( ) Oral evidence of Civil on Demands for Grants ( ) Considered and adopted of the Reports: (ii) Oral evidence of Secretary, Ministry of Culture on Demands for Grants ( ) Considered and adopted of the draft reports on Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministries of Shipping & Civil and Culture Considered and adopted of the draft report on Action Taken by the Government on the Shri Brahm Dutt, Road Transport and Highways Shri Sujit Banerjee, Tourism Shri K. Mohandas, Shipping Shri Jawhar Sircar, Culture Shri M. Madhavan Nambiar, M/o Civil _

4 observations/recommendations as contained in its 131st Report on the Closure of Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports and matters related thereto141st Report on the Modernization of Airports and 142nd Report on the Functioning of Private Airports and the related issues Heard the views of the Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, Heard the Secretary, M/o Civil, alongwith Director-General, Directorate General of Civil, CMD, National Company of India Ltd., and Chairman Airports Authority of India on Duties, Responsibilities and Functions of Directorate General of Civil and Helicopter Operations in India Heard the views of the stakeholders, experts, organizations and individuals on the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, 2010 and local visit of the Committee to Indira Gandhi International Airport Considered and adopted of the draft report on the National Road Safety and Shri Brahm Dutt, Secretary Shri M. Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Shri Arun Kumar Sharma, Chief Engineer & President (CES), Representatives Of Central Engineering Services Group 'A' Officers' Association, Delhi Shri S.P. Singh, Senior Fellow and Coordinator, Representatives of Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training, Delhi Shri Shrikant R. Marathe, Director, Representatives of Automotive Research Association of India, Pune Shri Rohit Baluja, President, Representative of Institute of Road Traffic Education, Delhi Shri R.P. Indoria, Secretary-General, Representatives of Indian Roads Congress, Delhi Dr. Sanjay Kulshreshtha, Senior Pediatric Surgeon

5 Traffic management Board Bill, The Committee undertook a visit to National Museum and Red Fort after the meeting and the Chairman informed Members that the Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010 has been referred to the Committee on 20 th August, Heard the Culture and allied services on the functioning of National Museum and related matters Heard the representatives of the Ministry of Civil Ministry of Home Affairs and Department of Legal Affairs on the Anti Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, Considered and adopted of the draft report on the Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010 Heard the Civil on the Functioning of DGCA and Helicopter operation in India Heard the Road Transport and Highways on the Current scenario regarding Development of National Highways in the Country. Shri Jawhar Sircar, Culture Shri E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Addl. Secy. & FA of Ministry of Civil Shri L.D. Jha, Joint Home Affairs. Shri M.K. Sharma, Joint Secretary & Legal Counsel of Department of Legal Affairs Dr. Sanjay Singh, Joint Secretary and Legislative Counsel, Legislative Department Shri M. Madhavan Nambiar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil AVM K. Sridharan, President, President, Rotary Wing Society of India. Shri R.S. Gujral, Road Transport and Highways Considered and adopted of the drafts reports on ATR of the Demands for Grants ( ) pertaining to Ministries of Tourism, Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, Culture, Civil Heard the views of the representatives of the Ministries of Shipping, Railways and Road, Transport and Highways on the subject Modernisation of Major Ports. Shri K. Mohandas, Shipping 1 40 Total During the year under review, the Committee presented a total of 11 reports compared to 3 reports in the year Sl. Report Title of the Report Date of Adoption Date of No. No. Presentation Merger of Indian Airlines and Air India: its impact on the Civil Sector 8 January, March,

6 Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/observations of the Fortieth Report on Promotion of Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/ observations of the committee contained in its One Hundred Forty Ninth Report on Development of Tourism Infrastructure and Amenities for the Commonwealth Games Demands for Grants ( ) Ministry of Tourism Demands for Grants ( )of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministry of Shipping Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministry of Culture Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministry of Civil Action taken by the Government on the recommendations/ observations of the Thirty First Report on Closure of Bangalore & Hyderabad Airports; One Hundred and Forty First Report on Modernisation of Airports; and One Hundred Forty Second Report on Functioning of Private Airports The National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, February March, February, March, April, April, April, April, April, April, April, April, April, April, May May July, July, Oct Oct Presented to Hon'ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha 14.9 Status of Computerisation: The Section is equipped with Seven Personal Computers and all the work of the Section relating to drafting of reports, notices, minutes and other communications is being done on these Computers. The Staff of the Section are trained to work on these Computers. All these Computers have been linked with Local Area Network (LAN) and Internet facilities. This Section is making optimum use of the computer facilities provided to the Section. The Section is regularly feeding and updating the data in the Committee Software and Rajya Sabha website. The notice of the Committee meeting report etc. are being sent through the to the Members of the Committee. The Section also sent SMS via Internet about the meetings of the Committee to the Members Budget Allocation/Expenditure: An amount of Rs.1,24,000/- was sanctioned for the financial year , out of which Rs.62,141/- had been spent upto on refreshment/lunch etc. served during Committee meetings. During the year 2009, a total amount of Rs.42,752/- was spent on refreshment etc. served during Committee meetings : As per the guidelines relating to settlement of tour expenditure, the Committee settled Bills of Rs. 6,50,396 /- in the year Inspection Report: The Annual Inspection of the Section was conducted on 15 th February, The observations/suggestions made by the inspecting officer were duly followed in the section. 119

7 14.12 Training of the Staff: During the year, the following staff of the Section participated in Training programmes organized by the Training Unit, as detailed below:- Sl. No. Name of the Participant Title of the Training Programme 1. Shri Prem Prakash Dhyani Senior Clerk 2. Shri Sanjay Kumar Sahani Senior Clerk Financial Sanctions 1. Financial Sanctions 2. Parliamentary Practice and Procedure Miscellaneous work: In addition to the work referred to above, the Section also dealt with other miscellaneous work such as booking of Committee Rooms, liaison with the concerned Sections i.e. Interpreters, Reporters, Parliament Security Service, Electrical and Sound Departments, Air-conditioner, Horticulture of CPWD and Ministries concerned during the meetings of the Committee and settlement of the refreshment bills on account of expenditure incurred during the Committee s Meetings. The Committee also settled the Bills relating to tour. The Committee Section also informed the Meeting date and venue Telephonically as well as through and SMS to the Members. Other miscellaneous correspondence received in the Section were also suitably disposed off. Newspapers clippings pertaining to the Committee were sent to officers and selected clipping were sent to related Ministries for comments. The section also make available the information on the RTI applications received in the Secretariat and ensure timely submission of replies Goals and Achievements: The main goal of the Section was to provide timely Secretarial assistance in an efficient and effective way to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture and it provided all its support for achieving the goal. The Committee took up for consideration the subject of 'Merger of Indian Airlines and Air India: its impact on the Civil Sector and presented 151 st Report. The Committee also held extensive deliberation on 'The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010'. Report on the National Road Safety and Traffic Management Board Bill, 2010 which was referred for examination and report, was presented to both Houses of Parliament. The Committee also considered the Action taken Notes received from the ministries on the Reports. 120