As world leaders brainstorm on how to tackle climate change in Copenhagen, closer home, parliamentarians are contemplating more eco-friendly measures in their way of working.
In one such move, a committee is working on modalities to make the parliamentary process paper-free by switching to the e-mode.
As a first step, the practice of having printed replies to questions posed to ministers may be scrapped. Rajya Sabha deputy chairman K Rahman Khan said the tradition of having printed copies of parliamentary questions may be replaced with them being posted online, along with replies. This, according to him, will not only mean a faster process but also prevent thousands of trees from being cut to make paper. “Our effort may be like a drop in the ocean, but it is a positive step in saving the environment,” Rahman said.
Parliamentary queries are uploaded on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites only after they are tabled in the Houses during question hour. During this process, replies
to questions are given in printed form to all members of Parliament, copies of which are made available to the media.
During a Parliament session, members ask questions specific to a ministry on a designated day. There are roughly 20 questions listed for question hour, followed by supplementaries. While ministers give oral replies to listed questions, many unstarred questions are answered in print, with copies being circulated among members. About 230 questions are placed for written answers on a given day.
For each session, huge volumes of paper are consumed even though the replies are uploaded a few hours later.
“There is a problem when a member posing a question is in his/her constituency or out of station, since his/her signature is required. Then begins the exercise of getting signatures and completing formalities. We want to reduce this by using digital signatures. Every member has been given a laptop and 3G connectivity. We want them to file questions online, which can be replied to online, and then they can check it on Parliament’s website, besides getting a personal reply,” the deputy chairman said.
According to the Lok Sabha secretariat, the objective is to enable ministries to readily access questions answered by them earlier and help them access questions on related subjects answered by other ministries. It also enables secretariats to determine the issue of admissibility of a notice on the basis of a similar question answered earlier.
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