External Controls
As the name indicates the external controls act upon the administration from the outside they work within the general constitutional structure and may differ from country to country
The external control over administration may be considered from four main standpoints, namely:
- Legislative or Parliamentary control,
- Judicial Control,
- Quasi-Judicial Control
- Control by the Community.
Legislative Control can be studied with reference
- Control in a Presidential System
- Control in a Parliamentary System
i) Legislative Control over Administration in a Presidential System:
Legislative Control in a Presidential System is relatively restricted when compared to the Parliamentary system. Executive in the parliamentary system, the Executive in the Presidential system need not necessarily have the majority support in the House of Congress. The Legislature in a Presidential system can neither put questions to the ministers nor can it pass a no-confidence or Censure Motion against the government.
Under a Presidential system, the Congress can exercise control over administration through the following methods:
- It defines the organization, powers and duties of the administrative authorities.
- It appoints legislative committees for investigation of administration.
- It makes laws laying down policies, methods and procedures.
- It controls the national purse, sanctions expenditure through appropriation acts, fixes the purposes and amounts of expenditure, passes tax legislation and examines the accounts and audit.
- It has the power of impeachment of the President.
ii) Legislative Control Over Administration in a Parliamentary System:
Unlike the Legislative Control in the Presidential system Legislative control is of primary importance in a Parliamentary System because all state activities emanate form the Legislature.
The problem of ensuring administrative accountability to the legislature in a parliamentary system of government like that of India, is one, which is largely a matter of politics’ and not of law’. Of the many functions of the legislatures; one of the most important is the Control and overview of Administration’.
The notion of legislative control has been subject to two different interpretations, i.e.,
a) General Political Control
b) Detailed examination of Governmental activities
General Political Control:
General Political Control implies that the legislature has a right to express its agreement or disagreement with the way the government intends to orient or has oriented its activities. In the West Minister model of Parliamentary Government, such a control is secured through the continuous and collective responsibility of the Cabinet to the directly elected House of Parliament and its continuation in office so long as it commands the support of the majority in that House.
Detailed Examination of Governmental Activities:
The second interpretation involves the detailed examination of governmental activities, which may cover both
i). Preliminary Intervention (ii) Ex-Post Facto Scrutiny
Preliminary Intervention: It is a type of influence that is exercised before a policy is adopted. Discussions on the President’s address at the commencement of the new session of Parliament or the General Discussion of the Budget can be cited as examples for preliminary intervention.
Ex-Post Facto Scrutiny: In the ever expanding role of administration due to the phenomenal proliferation of state activities in a modern democratic welfare state, parliamentary control has increasingly taken the form of ex post facto supervision and control. It is in this sense of control that we must now examine the main instruments through which Parliament in India attempts to exercise control over the executive.
The control of the Parliament over the Executive can be studied under three categories.
- General Control over policies and actions of the executive
- Financial Control
- Control Exercised by other Committees on Legislative and Administrative matters.
General Control over Policies and actions of the Executive: The general control of legislature over the policies and actions of the Government is exercised mostly at the initiative of individual opportunities to raise important points to raise important political, policy or administrators either requiring an answer from the government or criticizing its activities generally.
The tools of general control can be classified into the following categories:
- Parliamentary Questions/Question Hour /Zero Hour
- Discussions
- Calling Attention Notice
- Motions
- Resolutions
- Mentions under Rule 377
1. Parliamentary Ouestions:
The tool of Parliamentary Questions can be classified into the following:
(a) Proceedings during the Question Hour (b) Proceedings during the Zero Hour.
Question Hour: The first hour of every Parliamentary is reserved for the asking and answering of questions for information. This is known as the Question Hour’. The Question hour has come to occupy a valuable part of the daily proceedings of the House. Members, Ministers, visitors to the Lok Sabha, and the Press representatives, all of whom are present in maximum numbers during the Question Hour, look forward to it with lively interest. Members make use of the Question Hour to ask questions on all subjects falling within the sphere of the Government of India. The Questions throw, as it were, a “searchlight on the whole administration.
Although a question is asked to seek information but behind it may be the suggestion that things have gone wrong or administration has been amiss or there has been delay or the administrative action has not been consistent with the approved policy.
Categories of Questions: Questions asked in both Houses of Parliament are normally o addressed to the Ministers (government members) and can be categorised as Starred Questions, Unstarred Questions and Short Notice Questions. A Question may sometimes be addressed to the private members also.
Starred Questions: These questions are to be answered orally on the floor of the House. Answers to such questions may be followed by supplementary questions by members. Starred qüestions derive their name form the fact that they are always distinguished by an asteriske
Unstarred Questions: An unstarred question is so named because it does not carry an asterisk mark. Answer to such a question unlike a starred question is not given orally, but in a . written form. Consequently, no supplementary question can be asked thereon
Short Notice Ouestions : A short notice question is one which relates to a matter of urgent public importance and can be asked with notice shorter than the ten days prescribed for an ordinary question.
On an average some 30 questions are orally asked and answered everyday. Many supplementary questions asked are always in the nature of the cross-examination and on often an ordeal for the Minister to answer them. It is not always that question to seeking information, which should be their primary object; they are often used to hold don’t to ridicule. Though on occasions, the questions are obviously trivial, a useful purpose is served by all questions, trivial or important, because they train attention different phases of administrative policy or activity and keep the administration into the standard.
Effect of Questions on Government Departments:
The effect of questions on departments is tremendous. To Quote Hugh Gaitskell, “If there is one major thing which leads Civil Servants to be excessively cautious, timid and careful and to keen records which outside the Civil Service would be regarded as unnecessary, it is the fear of the Parliamentary questions”
Earl Attlee, the former Prime Minister of Britain, said, “I always consider that questionnaire in the House as one of the finest examples of real democracy. The effect of questions were Minister and still more questions asked publicly in the House, is to keep the whol service on their toes”
No officer is more concerned with any other form of Parliamentary control than the question and nothing makes him more anxious than what his minister would do while replying to supplementaries. The instrument of questioning is flexible, quick and strong enough to discredit the Ministry and the minister, though sometimes it may go further and lead to the Tesignation of the Minister concerned. If the member who has put the questions is not satisfied with the reply, he can ask for a special half-an-hour to be allotted for discussing the matter.
Zero Hour:
Immediately after Question Hour and before the House adjourns for lunch, follows what in current jargon is called Zero Hour. During this hour opposition members attempt to raise a discussion on some subject which may be agitating the public at the time. As soon as the Question hour is over several members are on their feet, to raise matters who may na cannot brook any delay, even, if there are no rules permitting them.
Zero Hour is an irregular affair. Since the matters are raised without any permission or prior notice, it results in loss of precious time of the House and encroaches on the legislative, financial and other regular business of the House. The underlying consideration behind the use of Zero Hour seems to be the belief that rules are irrelevant and issues of national importance or serious grievances of the people should be raised immediately.
Zero Hour is India’s innovation in the field of parliamentary practices and has emerged, since 1962, as a powerful tool of control over the executive.
2. Discussions:
Discussions can be classified into two major categories, i.e. Half-an-Hour discussions and Short duration discussions.
Half-an-Hour Discussions:
If a member feels that the answer to a question that he had fielded was not satisfactory he can demand for a Half-an-Hour discussion at the end of the day. Generally speaking, such half-an-hour discussions are held frequently and they serve a useful purpose both from the standpoint to full scrutiny by Parliament and form the viewpoint of administration which has a opportunity to explain it’s case in more detail. Three days in a week are normally allotted for half-an-hour discussions. As the name suggests the discussions are limited to half-an-hour. When the discussion is taken up, the Member makes a short speech and the Minister replies to it.
Short Duration Discussions:
Yet another device available to a member to bring to the notice of the House matters of urgent public importance is to raise a discussion for a short duration. For raising such discussion, a member has to give a notice to the Secretary-General specifying the matter precisely and explaining clearly the reasons thereof, Such a notice should also be signed by at least two members of Parliament. This device has been in existence since 1953. The Speaker/Chairman decides the admissibility of notices received. If he is satisfied that the matter is urgent and of sufficient importance to be raised in the House at an early date and an early opportunity is otherwise not available for discussing the matter, he may admit the primarily the concern of the Union Government and is not based on unsubstantiated allegations: is not hypothetical; and involves an element of urgency. Only one matter can be raised in a notice.
3. Calling Attention Notice:
It is a notice introduced in the Parliament by a member to call the attention of a minister to a matter of urgent public importance, and to seek an authoritative 19 a statement from him on that matter. Like the Zero Hour, it is also an Indian innovation. In on the parliamentary procedure and has been in existence since 1954. However, unlike the Zero Hour, it is mentioned in the rules of procedure.
4. Motions:
Parliamentary Motions that are applicable in the above context are: Adjournment motions, No confidence motion and Censure motion.
Adjournment motions:
Whenever a member of Parliament is inclined to member of Parliament is inclined to press a matter to a 01 conclusion and wants to censure the government, he has a potent weapon” e government, he has a potent weapon in his hands in the 9 device of `Adjournment Motion’. It is a motion for an adjournment of business of the House for be the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance with the con Speaker’. The rules relating to adjournment motions are strict. The matter must be definite, of sufficient public importance of recent occurrence, must attract the central response involve failure of government and the facts must be agreed to by government and above must have the support of fifty members of the House. The discussion usually lasts 10. more than 2 1/2 hours and in any case is to be concluded that day. It is because o restrictions that it is rarely that a motion passes all the tests.
All these factors have combined to give this method of exercising control over the Executive a. great deal of importance and prestige.
No Confidence Motion:
The Council of Ministers remains in office as long as it enjoys the confidence of Lok Sabha. The moment it expresses a lack of confidence in the council of Ministers, the government is constitutionally bound to resign, whether or not the Prime Minister recommends a dissolution of the House. In order to ascertain this confidence, the rules provide for moving a motion to this effect which is called a “No confidence Motion’. There is no express provision in the constitution regarding the individual responsibility of the Minister to parliament for anything done or not done in his department. This responsibility is collective. Therefore, only a motion expressing want of confidence in the council of Ministers as a whole is admitted and the one expressing lack of confidence in an individual Minister is not admitted. A No-Confidence Motion need not set out grounds on which it is based, however it requires the support of at least 50 members to be admitted. A notice of motion of no-confidence has to be given before the commencement of the sitting on the day it is proposed to be raised. No conditions of admissibility have been laid down in the Rules . The Speaker has the power to decide whether a motion can be admitted or not.
It is to be noted that the Rajya Sabha is not empowered to entertain a motion of no-confidence. because the government is collectively responsible under the Constitution only to the directly elected House of the People (Lok Sabha).
Censure Motion:
A No-Confidence Motion cannot be moved against any single minister. In order to off-set this lacunae another parliamentary device known as the “Censure’ motion is used.
A Censure motion can be moved both against the Council of Ministers or an Individual Minister for failure to act or for their policy, and may express regret, indignation or surprise of the House at the failure of the Minister or Ministers. However, the Censure Motion to be admissible must set out the grounds or charges on which it is based and is moved, for the specific nummer censuring the government for certain policies and actions.
5. Resolutions:
A resolution is also one of the procedural means available to the members and the Ministers to raise a discussion in the house on a matter of general public interest
A resolution is a self contained independent motion. Unlike motions in generala resolutions have been provided by the Rules of the Procedure concerning both Accordingly, a resolution to be moved in the Lok Sabha may be in the form of a declaration of opinion or a recommendation; or may be in the form so as to record either approval or disapproval by the House of an act or policy of government or convey a message; or commend i request or urge an action, or call attention to a matter or situation for consideration by government, or in such other forms as the Speaker may consider appropriate. Similarly, in Rajya Sabha a resolution may be in the form of declaration of opinion by the House or in any such other form as the Chairman considers appropriate.
Types of Resolutions : Resolutions may be classified as:
- Private Member’s Resolutions
- Government Resolutions and
- Statutory Resolutions.
Private Member’s Resolutions: Resolutions which are moved by private members are called Private Member’s Resolutions. They, in fact, enable the government to gauge the feelings of the House with regard to proposals which are still indefinite or may be ahead of public opinion.
Government Resolutions: Resolutions moved by the Ministers are known as Government Resolutions. Ministers also are required to give prior notice to the Secretary General of their intention to move a resolution. Though no period has been prescribed for this, in actual practice, Ministers give such notice several days in advances. These notices are also subject to the same rules admissibility as a private member’s resolutions.
Statutory Resolutions: These resolutions may be moved either by a Minister or by a Private Member. They are so called because they are always tabled in pursuance of provisions in the Constitution or an Act of Parliament.
6. Mentions Under Rule 377 :
This is a device that enables members to raise issues which were not the subject matter of a recent Question, Adjournment Motions, Calling Attention Notices, etc. Matters which are not points of order or which cannot be raised under the rules relating to Questions, Short Notice Questions, Calling Attention Notices, etc. are raised under Rule 377.
Parliamentary Control Over Finances : Control over public revenues and public expenditure is the most important element of legislative control over public administration. “It is one of the primary functions of the budgetary process to satisfy the requirements of accountability to parliament which, in our democratic set-up, is the ultimate authority to sanction the raising and spending of public funds. Parliament’s control of the purse is fully established and taxes cannot be imposed and money cannot be spent without its approval : The financial control exercised by the Parliament is of two kinds : Control before Appropriation and Control after Appropriation.
Control Before Appropriation: The budget, that is the ‘Annual Financial Statement of estimated revenues and expenditure, is an important tool of legislative control over administration. In discussing the budget – which is the authority for all government spending and voting the budget grants, the legislature in fact exercises a basic form of expenditure control. The principal steps in the budgetary process are four in number, namely : General Discussion on the Budget, Discussion on Demands for Grants, Passing the Appropriation Bill, and Passing the Finance Bill. All the above steps involve various procedures through which the Parliament can exercise its control by expressing its displeasure. (A detailed account of the same has been given in the chapter on Financial Administration.)
Post Budgetary Control/Control After Appropriation : The control continues in another form after the budget is passed. The objective is to ensure that the funds appropriated by parliament have been utilised for the purposes specified and in the manner intended. In this phase of parliamentary control, the instruments used are the Financial Committees of Parliament,
Financial Committees of Parliament: It is the responsibility of Parliament to examine and approve the proposals for taxation and estimates of expenditure made by the government. Although nearly two months of the Budget Session’ are devoted for this purpose, discussions are neither very extensive nor intensive. In its anxiety to cover the whole field, the observations and criticism by Parliament have tended to be general, repetitive and formal. As the time available is short, often demands relating to a number of Ministers/Departments are not discussed, in detail In order to offset this drawback parliament has provided for three financial committees, that endeavour to undertake the task of detailed scrutiny bf governmental spending and performance there securing the accountability of the administration to Parliament in financial matters.
The three Financial Committees of Parliament are The Public Accounts Committee, The Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
The Public Accounts Committee:
The Public Accounts Committee, popularly known as PAC, is the oldest Financial Committee. On the basis of the recommendations of Act of 1919, the Public Accounts Committee was constituted in 1921. It consists of 22 members (15 from Lok Sabha and 7 from Rajya Sabha), (originally it consisted of only 15 members from the Lok Sabha however in 1954 it was increased to 22 by adding 7 members from the Rajya Sabha). Members are elected by the Parliament every year from among its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote to enable all parties to secure due representation on it.
The term of office of the members is only one year but by convention members are re-elected for another year. As a matter of practice since 1967, a member of the opposition is being appointed as the Chairman of the Committee.
Functions of the Public Accounts Committee : Rule 308 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha lays down the functions and duties of the Committee as follows:
To examine the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by the Parliament for the expenditure of the government of India, the Annual Finance account of the Central Government and such other accounts laid before the house as the Committee may think fit. It does so by examining the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General submitted to parliament. While doing so the committee has to ensure,
a] That the moneys shown in the accounts as having been disbursed were legally available for and applicable to the service or purpose to which they have been applied or charged.
b] That the expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it.That every reappropriation has been made in accordance with the provisions made under rules framed by the competent authority.
To examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of state corporations, trading and manufacturing schemes, concerns and projects together with the balance sheets and statements of profit and loss accounts which the president may have required to be prepared or are prepared under the provisions of the statutory rules regulating the financing of a particular corporation, trading or manufacturing scheme or concern or project and the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on it. This power, however, does not extend to such public undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings by the Speaker.
To examine the statement of accounts showing the income and expenditure of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies the audit of which may be conducted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General either under the direction of the President or by a statute of Parliament.
To consider the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in cases where the President may have required him to conduct an audit of any receipts or to examine the accounts of stores and stocks.