Parliament Winter Session Report Card: 10 Bills Passed Amid Low Productivity

The Parliament's proceedings were marred by heated squabbles and frequent disruptions, leading to low productivity.

The winter session of Parliament started on 29 November and was scheduled to end on 23 December.

(Photo: The Quint/ Kamran Akhter)

The tumultuous winter session of the Parliament came to a premature close on Wednesday, 22 December, as both houses were adjourned sine die, a days ahead of the schedule.

The parliamentary proceedings, which had commenced on 29 November, were marred by heated squabbles, frequent disruptions, and recurrent adjournments, pulling down the productivity of the houses.

Amid these disturbances, how productive was the Parliament in the winter session? What debates were held? What bills were introduced? How many bills were passed?

Here's a lowdown.

How Productive Was the Parliament?

As per data collected by non-profit legislative research organisation PRS, while the Lok Sabha clocked a productivity of 77%, the Rajya Sabha was 43% productive during the winter session.

"Lok Sabha registered 82% productivity while Rajya Sabha witnessed 47% productivity in the Winter Session of the Parliament," said Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi, as per news agency ANI.

"The 7th Session (Winter Session) of the 17th Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die today. During the session, there were fruitful-positive discussions on many topics, the productivity of the session was 82%. During this, Hon'ble Prime Minister, I express my gratitude for the cooperation of the leaders and members of all the parties in the House."

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

The productivity of the lower house rose to 204% on 2 December, when a debate was held on COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha Chairperson Venkaiah Naidu, in his closing remarks, said, "I'm not happy to share with you that House functioned much below its potential. I urged all of you to collectively and individually reflect and introspect if this Session could have been different and better."

"I don't want to speak elaborately on the course of this session as it would lead me to take a very critical view," he added.

How Many Hours Did the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Work?

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha, which saw 18 sittings during the session, discharged business only for 45 hours and 34 minutes.

The total scheduled sitting time of the house was supposed to be 95 hours and 6 minutes.

A total time of 49 hours and 32 minutes was lost due to disruptions and forced adjournments. The time lost by the house amounts to 52.08% of the scheduled time.

A total time of 21 hours and 7 minutes was spent on discussing bills, with the Appropriation Bill, which is yet to be passed, accounting for 46.50% of the functional time of the house.

A total of 127 interventions were made by the members during these debates.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha held 18 sittings during the session, which lasted for about 83 hours, as per Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

The house lost 18 hours and 48 minutes to disruptions.

What Bills Were Passed in Parliament?

A total of 12 bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, and it passed nine of them. Ten bills were passed by the upper house, as per the chairperson.

Here is a list of bills that have been passed by the Parliament during the winter session:

• The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Condition of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021

• The Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021

• The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020

• The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019

• The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021

• The Dam Safety Bill, 2019

What Debates Did the Houses Conduct?

Two debates were held in the Lok Sabha during the winter session, on the topics 'COVID-19 pandemic and various aspects related to it' and 'Climate change.'

The debate on COVID-19, held on 2 December, lasted for a long period of 12 hours and 26 minutes. It saw the participation of 99 members.

The debate on climate change, which was held on 8 December, saw participation of 67 members, and went on for 6 hours and 30 mins.

In the Rajya Sabha, a discussion was held on the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country, which lasted for 1 hour and 15 minutes.