COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS
I. Composition of the Committee
7. Department-related
Parliamentary Standing Committees are constituted under Rule 268 of the Rules
of Procedure for Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha. Each of the Standing Committees is related to
the Ministries/Departments as specified in the Third Schedule to the Rules of
Procedure. As per Part-I of the Third
Schedule, there are eight such Committees under the administrative control of
Rajya Sabha Secretariat. 16 such
Committees, as mentioned in Part-II of the Schedule are with the Lok Sabha
Secretariat. These Committees are
constituted by the respective Presiding Officers of the two Houses of
Parliament. The Committee on Home
Affairs, (2005), one of such Committees, was constituted on
7.2 The Committee consisted of the
following Members: —
COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS
(Constituted on
1. Smt. Sushma Swaraj — Chairperson
RAJYA SABHA
2. Shri V. Narayanasamy
3. Shri Rishang Keishing
4. Shri R.K. Dhawan
5. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia
6.
Shri N. Jothi
7. Shri Janeshwar Mishra
8. Shri Satish Chandra Misra
39. Shri
Sitaram Yechury
410. Shri
Sanjay Raut
LOK SABHA
11. Shri L.K. Advani
12. Shri S.K. Bwiswmuthiary
13. Shri C.K. Chandrappan
14. Shri Biren Singh Engti
15. Shri Rahul Gandhi
16. Shri Tapir Gao
17. Shri T.K. Hamza
18. Shri Naveen Jindal
19. Shri Ajit Jogi
20. Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen
21. Shri Tek Lal Mahato
22. Shri Sachin Pilot
23. Shri Ashok Kumar Pradhan
24. Prof. M. Ramadass
25. Shri G. Karunakara Reddy
26. Shri Baju Ban Riyan
27. Dr. H.T. Sangliana
28. Choudhary Bijendra Singh
29. Shri Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
30. Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy
31. Shri Beni Prasad Verma
COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS
(Re-constituted on
1. Smt. Sushma Swaraj — Chairperson
RAJYA SABHA
2. Shri V. Narayanasamy
3. Shri Rishang Keishing
4. Shri R.K. Dhawan
5. Shri S.S. Ahluwalia
6.
Shri Janeshwar
Mishra
7.
Shri Prasanta
Chatterjee
8. Shri N. Jothi
9. Shri Satish Chandra Misra
10. Shri Sanjay Raut
LOK SABHA
11. Shri L.K. Advani
12. Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala
13. Shri Ilyas Azmi
14. Km. Mamata Banerjee
15. Smt. Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo
16. Shri Biren Singh Engti
17. Shri Tapir Gao
18. Shri T.K. Hamza
19. Shri Raghunath Jha
20. Shri Naveen Jindal
21. Shri Ajit Jogi
22. Prof. K.M. Kader Mohideen
23. Shri Ram Chandra Paswan
24. Shri Sachin Pilot
25. Shri Ashok Kumar Pradhan
26. Shri G. Karunakara Reddy
*27. Shri
M. Rajamohan Reddy
28. Shri Baju Ban Riyan
29. Choudhary Bijendra Singh
30. Shri Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh
31. Shri Mohan Singh
II. Subjects selected for examination
7.3.0 The Committee on Home Affairs had the following subjects5 for examination during the year:-
|
Sl. No. |
Ministry/Department |
Subject |
|
1. |
Ministry of Home Affairs |
Administration of |
|
2. |
Ministry of Home Affairs/ Ministry of DoNER |
Internal Security and Economic and Infrastructural Development in NER. |
7.4.0 In addition to the above subjects,
Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha also referred the following Bills to the
Committee for examination:-
|
Sl. No. |
Date
of reference |
Name of the Bill
|
|
1. |
03.08.2006 |
The
Sashastra Seema Bal Bill, 2006 |
|
2. |
22.12.2006 |
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Bill, 2006 |
7.4.1 Besides, the Committee had also
inherited the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2005 and the
Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill,
2005 from its predecessor.
III. Constitution of Sub-Committees of the
Committee on Home Affairs
7.5 During 2006, no sub-Committee was
constituted.
IV. Review of work done
(a)
Sittings of the Committee
7.6
Statement showing the dates of sittings of the Committee held during the
period under review, the duration of the sittings, the number of Members
present and the subjects discussed are given in Annexure VII.
7.7 The Committee had not interacted with
any foreign delegation during the period under review.
(b) Sitting of Sub-Committees
7.8 During the period under review no
sittings of Sub-Committees were held, as no Sub-Committees were constituted.
(c) Material and Memoranda furnished to
the Committee
7.9 Voluminous notes/documents were
received from the concerned Ministries/Departments on the subjects/Bills and
examined by the Committee.
7.10 A large number of memoranda were
received from the non-officials on different subjects/Bills examined by the
Committee. Those Memoranda were sent to the concerned Ministries for their
comments.
(d) Study Visits
7.11 The Committee had undertaken a study
visit to Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Meghalaya from 1 to
7.12 The Committee did not constitute study
groups to make on-the-spot study of local offices, institutions, projects etc.
during the period reported upon.
(e)
Evidences Taken
7.13 Eighteen (18) evidences were taken
during the period under review and verbatim record of each of the sittings were
kept.
V.
Reports Presented
(a) Reports
7.14 During 2006, the Committee presented/laid the following Reports to the Council/House:—
|
Sl. No. |
Report No. and Dates of Presentation/Laying Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha |
Subject |
|
1. |
118 09.03.2006 09.03.2006 |
The Protection of Human
Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2005. |
|
2. |
119 19.05.2006 19.05.2006 |
Demands for Grants
(2006-2007) of Ministry of Home Affairs. |
|
3. |
120 19.05.2006 19.05.2006 |
Demands for Grants
(2006-2007) of Ministry of DoNER |
|
4. |
121 02.08.2006 02.08.2006 |
Examination
of Administration of |
|
5. |
122 13.12.2006 13.12.2006 |
The Communal Violence (Prevention,
Control and Rehabilitation of Victims) Bill, 2005. |
(b) Action Taken Reports
7.15 The Committee did not present any
Action Taken Report on the Action Taken by the Government on the
Recommendations contained in its Reports.
(c) Analysis of
action taken by Government on the recommendations of the Committee in its
earlier Reports:
No action in view of the fact stated in 7.15
above.
7.16 Minutes of sittings of the Committee on
Home Affairs relating to all the Reports were presented/laid to the
Council/House along with the relevant Reports.
VI. Summary of Recommendations
(a)
118th Report (The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2005)
7.17 The Committee recommended that in the proposed amendment,
the words “Chief Justice of the Supreme Court” may be substituted by the words
“Chief Justice of India”.
7.18 The Committee was of the view that an express provision
needed to be incorporated in the amendment to clear the apprehensions and
doubts that the Chairperson may tend to misuse the power in making excessive
delegation. The Committee, therefore,
recommended that in sub-section (4) of Section 3 of the Principal Act, the
words “except judicial functions” may be added after the words “such powers and
discharge such functions of the Commission”.
7.19 The Committee recommended that the amendment proposed in
sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the principal Act may be dropped in the light
of the deliberations held on this issue.
7.20 The
Committee was of the view that the State Governments while so opting for the
Chairperson and/ or Member (s), may tend to by-pass the Selection
Committee. The Committee, therefore,
recommended that the following proviso may be added after the proposed
amendment i.e., insertion of a new sub-section (6) :
“Provided that every appointment made under this
sub-section shall be made after obtaining the recommendation of the Committee
referred to in sub-section (1) of Section
7.21 The Committee while reiterating its observation made in
respect of the proposed amendment to sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the
principal Act, recommended that the amendment proposed to sub-section (2) of
Section 22 of the principal Act may be dropped.
7.22 Clause
I, the Enacting Formula and the Title were adopted with some changes which were
of consequential or drafting in nature, namely substitution of the calendar and
republic years, “
(b) 119th Report {The
Demands for Grants (2006-2007) of the Ministry of Home Affairs}
Revamping of Civil Defence
7.23 Civil
Defence is an important and integral part of the defence of the country.
Particularly during times of war Civil Defence Organisation has a vital role in
guarding and protecting the people and supporting civil administration. The
Committee had appreciated that NDMA proposed to have relook at the scheme of
Revamping of Civil Defence and integrate it into the National Disaster
Management. The Committee agreed that civil defence is the right organisation
to be involved in Disaster Management.
It however felt that unduly long time had been taken for revamping the
Civil Defence System. The Committee
therefore recommended that the issue may be got cleared from the NDMA Committee
and the Non-Plan Expenditure Committee and the final plan of action may be
prepared for revamping the Civil Defence in the shortest possible time
schedule. The Committee also recommended that funds for the scheme may be
allocated at RE 2006-07 stage and the scheme may be implemented during the
current financial year.
Modernisation of Fire Services
7.24 The Committee
regretted that as in the case of the scheme of Revamping of Civil Defence, the
scheme of Modernisation of Fire Services too could not take off last year
inspite of a provision of Rs. 134.26 crore in BE 2005-06. The Committee took a
serious view of the fact that new schemes were initiated, allocations were made
and they did not take off due to procedural and administrative delays. Although
fire services in the country are primarily the responsibility of the
States/Municipal Committees/ Corporations, the services across the country were
abysmally below the International Standards. The Committee desired that
Modernisation of Fire services which is a comprehensive scheme should be
equipped with modern technology, gadgets and infrastructure. The Committee while expressing concern over
delay of one year in implementing the scheme urged upon the Government to get
the scheme cleared in a definite time frame from NDMA and Planning Commission
and make necessary allocation at RE 2006-07 stage. The Committee also urged
upon the Ministry to implement the scheme during the current fiscal year.
Modernisation of Prisons
7.25 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the laxity
of some States in implementing the scheme. Improving the conditions of prisons
had been a widely discussed topic in the public domain. There is no two opinion that prisons in the
country need to be humanized. Infrastructure and living conditions inside the
prisons need to be improved. The present scheme of the Government, if implemented
in the right earnest, would go a long way in improving the conditions, if not
completely change the face of the Prisons. The Committee would therefore like
the Ministry of Home Affairs to coordinate closely with the State Governments
and impress upon them the need for timely and effective implementation of the
Scheme. The Committee recommended that the additional allocation for the
purpose may be made at the RE stage. The
Committee agreed that the scheme needs to be extended for two years, as desired
by the Ministry so that the full amount of Rs.1800 crore was utilised.
Bodoland Territorial Council
7.26 The
allocation of Rs. 100 crore made for the development of BTC is a separate
package announced by the Government of India as per the agreement. But the Committee was not in agreement with
the practice of making this provision out of the allocation made to NLCPR.
NLCPR being an accumulation of unspent balance of the 10% earmarked in the
Budget by various Ministries/Departments, is primarily a development fund;
using it for other schemes is a negation of the rationale behind the creation
of the Fund. NLCPR has a very limited reserve and if this Rs. 100 crore is
provided out of this Fund for BTC, the fund would get depleted. The Committee felt that the NLCPR being a
fund for development of NE States, should be used for the purpose for which it
was created. The Ministry of Home Affairs
might therefore decide on allocation of Rs.100 crore for BTC out of their
resources.
Pensionary benefits to CPO personnel
7.27 The Committee was at a
loss to understand as to why the Ministry of Finance was not acceding to the
request of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuing the same pensionary
benefits to Central Police Organisations (CPOs) as was applicable to the Army
personnel. The duties performed by most
of the CPOs’ personnel are, more or less, similar to that of the Army. The Committee, therefore, endorsed the
proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs for continuance of the pensionary
benefits to the personnel of Central Police Organisations (CPOs) as in case of
the Army personnel. The Committee
recommended that the Ministry of Home Affairs may once again take up the matter
with the Ministry of Finance and that Ministry may favourably consider the
proposal at the earliest.
Relief and
Rehabilitation of Kashmiri Migrants
7.28 The
Committee regretted to observe that the Government was not serious in fully
utilising the amount allocated at BE stage for rehabilitation of J & K
migrants. When Central Government had made the allocation, State like J & K
should have come forward with the schemes for utilising the money, particularly
in view of its being a terrorist savaged State. The Committee further observed
that the State Government should not have any hesitation in formulating the
schemes for which Central Government was prepared to allocate necessary funds. The Committee, therefore, reiterated its
recommendation made in its 112th Report (para 8.3, page 15) on
Demands for Grants (2005-06) that the full amount allocated for the
rehabilitation schemes for the J&K migrants should be utilised. The
Committee also urged upon the Government to impress upon the J & K
Government to come forward with schemes in time and implement them without
delay.
Multipurpose National Identity
Cards Scheme
7.29 ‘The importance of the Mulit-purpose
National Identity Card Scheme (MNICs) in a country like India with thousands of
kilometres of porous International
Border and with the large presence of illegal immigrants posing a grave threat
to the internal security, need not be overemphasized. The Committee was, however, disappointed at
the pace of implementation of the pilot project. If the pilot project itself was taking such a
long time, preparation of MNICs for all the citizens might take several more
years. The Committee, therefore, urged
upon the Government to accord high priority to the Scheme and accelerate
completion of the Pilot Project within a specific time frame rather than
dragging it endlessly. The Committee was
confident that based on the experience gathered in the implementation of the
Pilot Scheme for the last two and a half years, the government would be in a
position to evolve time bound action plan for implementation of the scheme at
the national level’.
Naxalism
7.30 The Committee expressed its serious concern over the growing
influence of naxalites all over the country and felt that it was no more a law
and order problem and posed a threat to internal security as was evident from
their declaration of Compact Revolutionary Zone or Red Corridor from
7.31 In
that context, it found pertinent to mention the Prime Minister’s observation in
a meeting of the CMs of Naxal affected States held on 13th April,
“... It
would not be an exaggeration to say that the problem of naxalism is the single
biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our country...”
7.32 There
was, therefore, an urgent need to curb the naxal activities with an iron hand and
simultaneously address the associated economic problem. There needs to be more seriousness in
implementing the programmes for developing the infrastructure in the affected
districts; to improve the economic conditions of the citizens; and winning back
the confidence of those, who are alienated from the mainstream of the society
and aligning with the naxals. The
Committee recounted that in its earlier reports, it had impressed upon the
Ministry to adopt a holistic approach in tackling the naxal menace. The
Committee would once again like to reiterate its recommendation to the
effect.
7.33 The
Committee was constrained to learn that the scheme of such a magnitude and
importance had not been implemented in the
7.34 The
Committee while appreciating the efforts being made by Delhi Police to improve
its functioning and also to improve its image, felt that there was still a lot
of room for improvement. The Committee
recommended that Delhi Police should conduct a survey on the perception of the
people about it. Senior officers should
undertake surprise and disguised visits to police stations and deploy decoy
complainants and observe the behaviors of the personnel there. It would give Delhi Police important inputs
about effectiveness of its various steps at the ground level, trying to improve
its functioning and its interface with the public.
Crime against Women
7.35 The
way crime is perpetrated against women in