EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
How does Parliament control the Union Executive? How effective is its control?. (250 Words)
It is the function of Parliament to exercise political and financial control over the Executive and to ensure parliamentary surveillance of administration. The mechanisms by which both the organs are interrelated are as follows:-
- Executive Responsibility
Art 75(3) of the constitution places collective responsibility of the Executive to Lok Sabha. Lok sabha can remove the government from office by passing a vote of No- Confidence. Defeating the government on a major issue of policy or passing an Adjournment motion amount to No- Confidence of house.
- Financial Accountability
FA of executive is ensured through enactment of budget and audit reports of the (AG. Executive cannot levy/ collect any tax without the authority of the law (art.265). Further Art.266 prohibits Executive to deposit, withdraw or appropriate out of Consolidated Fund of India without the approval of parliament
Under Article 112 the President lays down Annual Financial Statement (i.e. Budgets) in both the houses. Parliament can reduce/ refuse the grants to the Executive by passing these tantamount to the removal of Executive from office. Further the Appropriation and Finance Bills regarding expenditure and tax proposals need the authority of parliament.
- Administrative accountability
Administrative accountability means the accountability of the administration to Parliament. Accountability to Parliament is technical and indirect i.e. through the Ministers, and it is ex post facto i.e. after something is done; after action has ended. Also, it has to be based on specific grounds. Under the Indian system, after a policy is laid down, a law is passed or monies are sanctioned, it is administration which is required to execute and implement, Parliament cannot itself administer nor can the Ministers. It is, therefore, the officials and not the Ministers--who have to explain if things go wrong in the process of implementation.
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