Costing Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, logjams in Parliament are a costly affair

The Lok Sabha overall recorded a productivity of 34 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 24.4% during this Budget Session

The impasse in Parliament's Monsoon Session over Manipur persists.

On Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in letters to Opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, urged them to rise above party lines and work with the Centre to discuss the issue in Parliament.

But how much does this stalemate in Parliament cost the Indian taxpayer?

In the recently concluded Budget Session, which lasted from January 31 to April 6 and February 14 to March 12, the Lok Sabha functioned for 45.9 hours out of its allotted 133.6 hours, while the Rajya Sabha worked for 32.3 hours out of its slated 130 hours, reported News18.

The Financial Express reported that no bills were passed during the first half of the Budget Session. The second half of the budget session was even worse.

The Lok Sabha functioned only for 1.45 hours of its slated 36 hours, while the Rajya Sabha worked for just 2.78 hours of its
scheduled 35.50 hours in the second half.

Also Read: 31 bills to be introduced in Lok Sabha in the monsoon session of Parliament

The News18 report stated that this Budget Session was the least productive in five years.

Lok Sabha's productivity

"Entering the final year of its term, the 17th Lok Sabha has functioned for 230 sitting days so far. Of all the Lok Sabhas that completed the full five-year term, the 16th Lok Sabha had the lowest number of sitting days [331]," a report by PRS Legislative Research said.

"With one more year remaining in the term, and 58 average sitting days a year, the 17th Lok Sabha is unlikely to sit for more than 331 days. This could make it the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952," it added.

MoS Parliamentary Affairs Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the Lok Sabha overall recorded a productivity of 34 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 24.4 per cent during the entire Budget Session.

Talking about productivity, Vice President and Rajya Sabha chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar said that in the first half of the Budget Session, the productivity was 56.3 per cent, compared to an "abysmal 6.4 per cent" in the second half.

Dhankhar estimated House productivity at only 24.4 per cent. "Let's ponder over the dismal performance of the House and find a way out," he said.

However, recent history suggests that the stalemate has become the norm.

The Lok Sabha worked for 177 hours in 2022, while the Rajya Sabha worked for 127.6 hours. These figures were 131.8 hours and 104 hours, respectively, in 2021, reported Indian Express.

Also Read: LIVE: Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm amid Oppn's protest on Manipur issue

In 2020, the Lower House worked for 111.2 hours, while the Upper House for 93.8 hours.

Monetary cost

Former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary told Financial Express that the cost of running Parliament is Rs 2.5 lakh per minute.

According to Achary, this includes building maintenance, electricity, water, petrol and food bills, parliament security, MP salaries and allowances, bodyguards, parliament staff and all employees involved directly or indirectly.

The 2021 parliamentary impasse was estimated to cost the taxpayer approximately Rs 133 crore.

What do experts think?

A piece titled 'The Cost of Parliamentary Disruptions' by Chakshu Roy, head of legislative and civic engagement initiatives at PRS, notes that "a decline in the productivity of Parliament impairs its ability to effectively perform the duties that have been entrusted to it by the Constitution".

"With Parliament being disrupted routinely, MPs are not able to ask ministers tough questions during question hour to assess the work that their ministries are doing. With disruptions eating into the time available for parliamentary business, adequate time is not available for debating legislation," said Roy.

"As a result, bills either get passed without effective debate or remain pending in Parliament. With Parliament meeting for a fewer number of days and with its productivity falling on account of disruptions, MPs are not able to raise matters of urgent public importance and bring it to the attention of the government," he added.

However, Roy pointed out that there is more at stake than just money.

In a March interview with Financial Express, Roy stated that the failure to have constructive debates to address contentious issues should concern all of us as citizens.

"When Parliament does not function, laws needed to address challenges in governance are not legislated, the government gets away with minimal scrutiny over its functioning, and MPs lose out on the opportunity to represent the interests of their constituents. A larger cost still is the loss of faith in the institution of Parliament and its role in upholding Indian democracy," Roy had said.

Manipur violence

Since the Monsoon session began on July 20, both houses of Parliament have been disrupted, with the Opposition parties demanding a statement from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Manipur violence before proceeding with a discussion.

After a video of a May 4 incident surfaced on social media recently, showing two women stripped and paraded naked by a mob, the Opposition attempted to corner the government on the Manipur violence.

The Manipur Police have apprehended several of the suspects seen in the video. A case of kidnapping, gang rape, and murder has also been filed at the Nongpok Sekmai police station in Thoubal district, according to the police.

Since ethnic violence erupted in Manipur on May 3, more than 160 people have died, and several have been injured.