Standing Committee on Energy Background, Need and Role

Renewable Energy Policy brief nes September 2014 Climate Parliament

Standing Committee on Energy – Background, Need and Role

Background on Standing Committee

In India, Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) came into existence to ease the burden of the Parliament by adopting a committee system where the legislative matters pertaining to different departments and ministries would be dealt by the specified Standing Committees. To oversee the activities of the Government Departments and ensure accountability to the Legislature, a full-fledged system of 17 DRSCs came into being in April, 1993 in the Indian Parliament.

Initially, three Parliamentary Standing Subject Committees were constituted in 1989 for the Ministries of Agriculture, Science and Technology and Environment and Forests. Later on, as the demands for other department Parliamentary Committees in India committees mounted, and in pursuance with the recommendations of the Rules Committee of the Ad hoc Committees: are appointed Parliament, DRSCs were constituted with effect from 8th for a specific purpose and they cease April 1993. to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The recommendation from the Rules Committee for such a progressive move was as follows – " to make the Standing Committees: the financial parliamentary activity more effective, to make the committees, departmentally related executive more accountable and to avail of the expert and standing committees (DRSCs) and public opinion whenever necessary a beginning had been some other committees come under made" by setting up three Subject Committees. The the category of Standing Committees. Committee further noted that there "still remained These are permanent and regular important areas of governmental activities encompassed committees which are constituted by the new system" and hence the Committee from time to time in pursuance of the recommended "a full-fledged system of Departmentally provisions of an Act of Parliament or Related Standing Committees ... covering under their Rules of Procedure and Conduct of jurisdictional the ministries/departments of the Union Business in the Lok Sabha. The work Government ..."1 of these Committees is of continuous nature. The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha were amended accordingly to accommodate the functioning of these departmentally related standing committees.

1 Recommendation of the Rules Committee from the 1st report to the 10th Lok Sabha At present, there are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees covering under their jurisdiction all the Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India.

Functions of the Standing Committees in the Parliament

With reference to the Ministries/ Departments under their purview, the functions of these committees are: Departmentally Related Standing Committees (source: Lok Sabha) . Consideration of Demands for Grants;

1. Committee on Commerce . Examination of bills referred to by the 2. Committee on Home Affairs Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok 3. Committee on Human Resource Sabha as the case may be; Development 4. Committee on Industry . Consideration of annual reports; 5. Committee on Science & Technology and . Consideration of national basic long term policy Environment & Forests documents presented to the Houses and 6. Committee on Transport, Tourism and referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Culture Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the 7. Committee on Health and Family Welfare 8. Committee on Personnel, Public case may be and make reports thereon. Grievances, Law and Justice These Committees do not consider matters of day-to- 9. Committee on Agriculture day administration of the concerned 10. Committee on Information Technology Ministries/Departments. 11. Committee on Defense 12. Committee on Energy Standing Committees in the States 13. Committee on External Affairs 14. Committee on Finance Ironically, the DRSCs were first introduced in the States 15. Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs as ‘Subject Committees’, before they came into 2 and Public Distribution existence in the Parliament. Subject Committee system 16. Committee on Labour was introduced in Kerala Legislative Assembly for the 17. Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas first time in the country during 1980. Later on, such 18. Committee on Railways Subject Committees were also constituted in West 19. Committee on Urban Development Bengal Legislature during 1989. These subject 20. Committee on Water Resources committees were introduced with a view to oversee the 21. Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers activities of the Government Departments so as to 22. Committee on Rural Development ensure their accountability to the Legislature. States like 23. Committee on Coal and Steel 24. Committee on Social Justice and Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Meghalaya, Empowerment. Mizoram, Goa and Arunachal Pradesh all have Standing Committees. Recently in 2012, the Andhra Pradesh approved the constitution of 10 DSRCs in the Legislature to carry out budgetary scrutiny and ensure executive accountability.

2 http://kla.kar.nic.in/assembly/rop_e.pdf http://hpvidhansabha.nic.in/committee.asp Similar to the Parliamentary Standing Committees, the DRSCs in the States do not consider matters of day-to-day administration of the related Ministries/Departments. Standing committees also tend to work on a less confrontational level and can therefore come up with helpful and generally acceptable proposal, if the member of the committee does not agree to any recommendation; a note of dissent is attached in the report. Why do States need a Standing Functions of the Standing Committees in the States Committee?

. When examining bills, these committees can invite Standing committees provide an some experts and stakeholders for oral evidence. equal opportunity to legislators and Based on its examination, the committee will stakeholders of the field to write in prepare a report with its recommendations on the their memoranda – a platform to various provisions of the bill. provide their inputs in bills, policies, Besides enabling more people to become associated programs etc. with the governmental processes, the DRSCs also As the members of these committees help in making use of the experience and expertise learn and make recommendations on in guiding and supervising the governments the budget, they understand the functioning. pivotal role in giving a direction to . The Standing Committees promote financial management of finances of the accountability by reviewing the budget allocations to State, leading to a more structured the departments – often making recommendations and serious debate on the floor of on the same the assembly. . The Standing Committee reviews various programs The Legislators are updated on the and schemes run by the Central government in their status of programs and schemes, the states. challenges faced in the The recommendations of these committees are advisory in implementation. They address these nature and hence, not binding on Government. issues at the Standing Committee Standing Committee on Energy meetings.

One of the major developmental challenges India faces today is the access to reliable, clean and affordable supply of energy. India’s per capita energy consumption is one of the lowest in the world; the reason for such low level of consumption is not low demand, but poor access to energy. At present, India has over 75 million households without access to electricity. Poor access to energy affects health of the communities, limits opportunities for development, and contributes to the overall poverty. Affordability of electricity has become a constant issue of political agitation even in the areas with adequate supply of electricity. With an energy infrastructure that was designed primarily for fossil fuel based power generation, newer technologies harnessing energy from renewable energy sources are often left in the periphery. In light of the rising population, the ever increasing gap in electricity demand- supply and continued fuel imports - renewable energy has emerged as a viable solution. Not only does India have a vast untapped potential, but decentralized renewable energy systems is the best solution to rural electrification, where energy access is a magnanimous issue. Renewable energy development is also an effective strategy for dealing with climate change and hence needs to be given adequate attention.

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy in India has played a pivotal role in guiding the energy sector through their many recommendations – on policies and bills passed in the Parliament, budgetary allocations to the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and other relevant issues. The recommendations of the energy committee have also been crucial for the proper implementation of various renewable energy schemes and in suggesting progressive measures for the functioning of the energy department.

In the past few years the Parliamentary Energy Committee has made some landmark recommendations which have influenced government departments to a large extent. Based on the recommendations, the relevant Ministries like Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy have reported on the implementation of those recommendations through Action Taken Reports (ATRs) on the Demands for Grants and Budget utilization of both the Ministries, grid infrastructure, RE co-operation, reports on the functioning of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) etc.

Standing Committee on Energy in State Assemblies

In India, electricity falls under the concurrent list – that is, on which both the central and state governments have jurisdiction. Broad level programmes, policies and schemes are formulated at Central level. State Governments are responsible for planning the generation capacity, delivering and distributing electricity to all, scheduling and implementation etc. States also have separate state electricity regulatory commissions to determine the tariffs for both consumers and suppliers. Most programs related to renewable energy, on the other hand, are initiated and by the central government but, implementation, progress and success of any program or scheme falls under the onus of the state government. The state Government can also design policies and schemes on its own for renewable energy technologies.

One of the functions of the Standing Committee on Energy in State Assemblies is reviewing the progress and success of the programs run in the state. This serves as the perfect platform for legislators, who understand the local pressures and the requirements to guide the functioning of the program in the right direction and voice their views. Understanding the importance of the dynamics of the energy sector, many States have constituted Standing Committee on Energy in their State Legislatures, whose functions are mostly similar to that of the parliamentary standing committees. Examples of Standing Committee on Energy in Other States

 West Bengal - Standing Committee on Power & Non-Conventional Energy Sources

 Odisha- Standing Committee on Energy

 Arunachal Pradesh - Committee on Rural Works, Power, Public Service Commissions, Finance, Tax & Excise, General Administration, State Transport, Relief, Rehabilitation & Settlement, Research  Andhra Pradesh - Standing Committee on Infrastructure Development which deals with Energy

Role and responsibilities:

The Standing Committee on Energy in State assemblies can contribute in the following ways:

 Take an impartial view of implementation of Conventional and Renewable Energy based technologies.  Ensuring favorable and comprehensive policy framework in the state for the energy sector.

 Strengthen the bills or the legislative proposals by receiving inputs from the elected representatives.  Provide a platform for experts from the field to make learned contributions.

 Review of existing programmes and schemes by the committee ensuring an increased and smoother implementation.  Engage with the Energy Department and State Nodal Agencies from time to time, providing a platform for these bodies to flag off issues regarding any governmental procedures which needs to be addressed on the floor of the assembly as well as guiding them on any concerned matter causing distress in the energy sector.

Rationale for an Energy Standing Committee in Karnataka Assembly

Karnataka accounts for nearly 6.4% of electricity consumption in the country and has an installed capacity of about 14 GW. The state faces several energy issues that need to can be significantly addressed by renewable energy development. The state is taking significant measures for renewable energy development and has a renewable energy installed capacity of about 4600 MW. Yet, several gaps are present in the framework of RE development in the state. Some major energy issues being faced by the state are listed below:

 Electricity deficit: The electricity deficit in the state is around 13.9% (CSTEP, 2013). The state has been procuring power through short-term contracts in order to tide over these deficits. The deficit without such short-term purchase is actually 30.58% (PwC, 2013). The state’s short term power purchases have also grown rapidly in the last few years, from 1964 MU in 2009 to 11047 MU in 2013. Since Karnataka has no coal reserves of its own, RE can play a major role in addressing this issue.

 Rural electrification: As per the official estimates, 99.95% of villages are electrified in Karnataka however the state still has over 5 million households that are dependent on kerosene to meet their lighting requirement. This means that several households have no access to electricity even in “electrified villages”. Renewable energy systems can successfully provide decentralized electricity solutions for such households in rural areas across the state.

 Gaps in the implementation of Renewable Energy Policy 2009: Some of the enabling and progressive policy initiatives like single window clearance and green energy cess planned in the RE policy 2009 are yet to be completely implemented.

 The state is yet to meet its solar RPO targets and effective implementation of the revised solar policy has to be ensured.

 Lastly renewable energy can play a major role in bringing out social and economic development in rural areas of the state.

With increased vulnerability brought about by climate change and volatile energy prices, the problem of energy access has become even more acute. Standing Committee on energy at the state level will be in a very privilege position to provide necessary direction, guidance and inputs for broad policy formulations in the energy sector encouraging economic and social development through reliable energy supplies.

References:

CSTEP. (2013). Karnataka Power Sector Roadmap for 2021-22. Bangalore: Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission. PwC. (2013). Looking ahead: Securing Energy Through Clean Technologies. CII Karnataka Conference on Power 24- 25 October 2013. Bangalore: Confederation of Indian Industry. Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretariat Vidhana Soudha (2011). Rules of Procedure and Conduct of the Business in Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Bangalore

Subash C. Jain(2008). Departmentally Related Standing Committees of the Parliament: A background note. Supreme Court Cases. Climate Parliament is a network of cross-party parliamentarians in different regions of the world to promote renewable energy. If you have any queries or comments regarding this document, contact [email protected] or visit www.climateparl.net