India, as its constitution states, is a union of states. Enormous powers are vested in the states that make up the country - law and order, education, health, agriculture, water and transport, to name a few of their key responsibilities. Many other important duties like resource mobilisation and expenditure are shared with the Union government. Some Indian states are huge, indeed they match many countries in terms of their geographical expanse and population. Each of them governed by democratically elected governments which zealously guard their power and authority.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the governance of our states is the performance of their legislatures . Most sit for two or three weeks at the longest, with one or two shorter sessions. Just what kind of legislative business they can conduct thereafter is obvious. In comparison to the state legislatures, the Parliament of India actually manages to conduct some business, even though in recent years its record has been somewhat blemished.
The Parliamentary Committee system, which is kept away from the glare of the media, does a great deal of the leg-work on legislation and this compensates for the spotty performance of the two houses of Parliament.
To a great extent, here, the responsibility in the states lies with the executive, which does not give due importance to legislative processes. But blame must be shared with the legislators who participate in the functioning of their respective assemblies. In a few states with stable polities, legislators have been returned to the assembly in several successive elections. But others see massive turnovers and the result is that the people's representatives remain inexperienced and raw.
Ultimately, the responsibility rests with the political parties themselves. One of the major challenges before them is to maintain a high level of ethical conduct that is expected from legislators. While Parliament and some states have ethics committees, some state legislatures do not even have this minimal institutional check. As for the parties, they simply don't care, winning the seat is everything.
Andhra Pradesh: The assembly met for 37 days in 2012 over two sessions - budget and monsoon, and a three-day special session. The winter session has not been held. An assembly secretariat official failed to identify any particular reason for the few sittings. Each MLA earns a salary of Rs. 1,07,000 per month, including perks. The assembly spends, on average, Rs. 8,500 per minute during a session.
Delhi: Of the 245 working days last year, Delhi MLAs met only for 22. In 2011, 'business was transacted' only on 17 days, which included the 10-day budget session. Each day of the session costs Rs. 6.12 lakh, excluding the expenditure incurred on ministers and on collecting and preparing replies to questions. The last session of the assembly - held from December 11 to December 14 - was supposed to run for 14 hours. It lasted only 12 hours 35 minutes. According to official records, each hour wasted cost the secretariat Rs. 1.85 lakh. MLAs are paid Rs. 1,000 per sitting.
Jammu & Kashmir: In 2012, the budget-cum-winter session of the assembly, held in the state's winter capital Jammu, witnessed 33 sittings with nearly 10 meetings during the summer session in Srinagar. A ccording to assembly secretary Muhammad Ramzan, the MLAs are paid the air fare to attend the sessinos in Srinagar and Jammu, beside a Rs. 500 allowance per session. The salary for MLAs comes to about Rs. 80,300 per month. While the government says the two sessions are adequate, they have come under the fire from the opposition for being insufficient.
Punjab: For the Budget session, the newly constituted assembly met over 10 days. The winter session, before it was adjourned sine die, saw five sittings in December. An MLA in Punjab gets about `80,000 including their monthly salary and constituency allowance.
Rajasthan: The present house will go down in history as that with the fewest sittings. Since 2008, when the House was elected, it has met 97 times, averaging 24 days per calendar year. According to the Rules of Business and Conduct of the House, the total number of sittings in the three sessions - budget, winter and monsoon - should not be less than 60. Over the past two decades, the number of sittings has whittled down considerably. An MLA earns Rs. 62,500 per month and an allowance of Rs. 1,000 for each meeting attended.
West Bengal: Assemblies in large states such as West Bengal should meet for 90 days each year. But in 2012, West Bengal only managed 41. In 2011 and 2010, there were 34 and 48 sittings respectively. The key reason behind this is the government's alleged urge to avoid debate. MLAs here are paid Rs. 1,000 per sitting.
Uttar Pradesh: In its maiden year after the polls, the UP assembly met for all of 26 days, with a 21-day budget and five-day winter session. The monsoon session was not convened. Each MLA or MLC earns about Rs. 40,000 - Rs. 50,000. Over the past years, one has observed that the government mostly calls the assembly session either for the annual or supplementary budget, supplementary demand for funds or to get a Bill of its interest passed.
Tamil Nadu: In 2012, the assembly met for about 39 days, including the 32-day budget session. Disruptions are rare, but since 1989, a lot of time is wasted paying obeisance to the CM under the alternating DMK and AIADMK governments. If the House is in session for 120 days a year, it is considered a good thing. Under the DMK, there were more sessions but over time, the opposition's voice has been silenced. MLAs earn more than Rs. 70,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 daily allowance when the House is in session.
Jharkhand: Jharkhand is notorious for convening the minimum number of meetings, with 2012 witnessing just about 28. The assembly operates from rented premises and met 26 and 23 times in 2011 and 2010, respectively. It was decided at a Presiding Officers Conference during Somnath Chatterjee's tenure as Lok Sabha Speaker that small houses, such as Jharkhand's with its 81 members, ought to convene at least 50 sittings. But consecutive governments have failed to achieve this. MLAs in the state earn a Rs. 700-allowance per sitting.
Bihar: Back in 1960, the budget session of the Bihar assembly was held over 76 sittings in a span of 139 days. This year, the budget session year saw 28 sittings. The winter session had only five, as did the monsoon session. The shorter sessions started becoming a norm in the post-1980 era, and it has continued under the RJD as well as JD(U)-BJP regimes. MLAs get a Rs. 1,000 allowance per sitting.
Orissa: The winter session of the House had 21 working days, but a lot of time was lost thanks to the walkouts staged by the main Opposition party, the Congress. The 2012 budget session started on February 21 and went on till the first week of April, about 40 days. Then came the monsoon session, which saw 10 sittings. An MLA here earns Rs. 60,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 allowance per sitting.
Tamil Nadu: In 2012, the assembly met for about 39 days, including the 32-day budget session. Disruptions are rare, but since 1989, a lot of time is wasted paying obeisance to the CM under the alternating DMK and AIADMK governments. If the House is in session for 120 days a year, it is considered a good thing. Under the DMK, there were more sessions but over time, the opposition's voice has been silenced. MLAs earn more than Rs. 70,000 per month, with a Rs. 500 daily allowance when the House is in session.
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