COMMITTEE ON EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN CONSTITUTED

COMMITTEE ON EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN CONSTITUTED

Why in the News?

  • Committee Formation: Om Birla constituted the Committee on Empowerment of Women.
  • Chairperson Appointed: Daggubati Purandeswari was appointed Chairperson of the parliamentary committee.
  • Bicameral Representation: The committee includes 18 Lok Sabha members and 10 Rajya Sabha members from different political parties.

ABOUT THE COMMITTEE

  • Parliamentary Panel: The Committee on Empowerment of Women is a Departmentally Related Standing Committee-type parliamentary body focusing on women-related issues and environmental democracy in governance.
  • Composition: It consists of members nominated from both Houses of Parliament to ensure wider legislative representation.
  • Key Members: Prominent members include Hema Malini, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Iqra Choudhary, Sudha Murty and P. T. Usha.
  • Core Objective: The committee examines policies, programmes and legislative measures related to women’s welfare, empowerment, and ensuring a pollution free environment for sustainable development.
  • Advisory Role: It provides recommendations to improve implementation of schemes concerning women’s rights, safety and socio-economic development.

FUNCTIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE

  • Policy Review: The committee reviews government initiatives relating to education, health, employment, safety of women, environmental clearances, and compliance with the Forest Conservation Act.
  • Legislative Oversight: It examines reports and policies to ensure gender-sensitive governance, accountability, and adherence to the precautionary principle in policy formulation, while preventing ex post facto legislative irregularities.
  • Women Empowerment: Recommendations aim to strengthen political, economic and social participation of women in India, including their role in environmental jurisprudence and sustainable development initiatives.
  • Parliamentary Accountability: Committees enhance detailed scrutiny of executive actions beyond regular parliamentary debates, including oversight of Environmental Impact Assessment procedures and EIA Notification compliance.
  • Inclusive Governance: Representation from multiple parties promotes consensus-building on gender-related issues, reforms, and matters concerning Coastal Regulation Zone management and the polluter pays principle.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES

●  Definition: Parliamentary committees are smaller groups of Members of Parliament constituted for detailed examination of specific subjects.

●  Types: They are broadly classified into Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.

●  Function: Committees scrutinise Bills, budgets, policies, retrospective environmental clearances, and functioning of ministries for effective legislative oversight.

●  Importance: They enable detailed deliberation and bipartisan discussion, improving efficiency of parliamentary functioning while preventing ex-post legislative violations.

●  Constitutional Basis: Parliamentary committees derive authority from rules of procedure of Parliament of India.