Elections to the eighth Delhi Legislative Assembly will be held on February 5, 2025. The seventh Assembly held sessions between February 2020 and December 2024. This note looks at the functioning of the Assembly during this period.
Assembly had the fewest sitting days, met for 15 days a year on average
Source: PRS legislative
Source: PRS legislative
- The Assembly met for 74 days over five years, which is the lowest compared to all its previous five-year terms. It functioned for an average of three hours on the days it met.
- Within each year, sessions were adjourned without prorogation and were divided into parts. This resulted in the House meeting for one or two days on several occasions. While the Lieutenant Governor summons and prorogues sessions, the Speaker calls for sittings during a session.
Source: PRS legislative
14 Bills passed in five years; none referred to Committees
Source: PRS legislative
- Five Bills passed by the Assembly amended laws to increase the salaries and allowances of MLAs, Ministers, the Leader of Opposition, the Chief Whip, the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker. These Bills were passed in the Assembly in July 2022, and received assent from the President 225 days later in February 2023. Similar Bills were passed by the previous Assembly, however, they did not receive the assent of the Lieutenant Governor.
- Bills were not referred to Committees. The last instance of a Bill being referred to a Select Committee is from 2012 (The Delhi Registration of Marriages Bill, 2012).
Source: PRS legislative
Source: PRS legislative
Question Hour held on nine out of 74 sitting days
- Of the 74 sitting days, Question Hour was held on nine days. Members are required to submit questions 12 days in advance. On other occasions, Assembly meetings were announced with seven days’ notice on average, giving insufficient time for questions to be submitted.
- Between 2020 and 2025, MLAs asked 219 questions a year on average. Between 2019 and 2024, MPs in Lok Sabha asked 8,200 questions in a year on average.
- In 2021, the Committee on Questions examined the response to a question and concluded that the response was incorrect, amounting to a breach of privilege. It recommended that the matter be referred to the Privileges Committee.
Source: PRS legislative
In 2022, the Speaker referred the matter of unsatisfactory replies to questions to the Privileges Committee. The matter is currently pending with the Committee.
- During the Winter Session in 2024, the Speaker observed that departments such as revenue, services, land and building, and home do not submit replies to questions, undermining Question Hour.
Budget was discussed for two days on average
State Assemblies often have separate discussions on the annual budget and expenditure budget of ministries. The Delhi Assembly combined these discussions. During this term, on average budget discussion lasted for four hours.
House Committees presented 17 reports; no reports presented by Financial Committees
- The Assembly has 33 Committees. House Committees oversee issues such as daily business, petitions and privileges. Financial Committees examine CAG reports. Standing Committees examine working of ministries.
- The Committee on Petitions presented four reports; it had presented 27 reports in the previous term. It looked at issues such as disbursal of old age pension and functioning of OPD counters in Delhi government hospitals.
Source: PRS legislative
31% of MLAs had 90% or more attendance; 8% participated in more than 40 debates
▪ The Assembly had 62 male and 8 female members. Female MLAs had an average attendance of 83%, compared to
79% for male MLAs. Male MLAs participated in 20 debates on average, female MLAs participated in 16 debates.
▪ MLAs asked 15 questions on average. MLAs from the BJP asked 40 questions on average, and MLAs from the AAP
asked an average of 11 questions.
Note: Data on participation of MLAs does not include Ministers, Speaker and Deputy Speaker. This data is till March 2024.
Sources: Bulletins and Session Reviews, Legislations, Committees, Present structure of the Delhi Legislature, Rules of Procedure, Committee System in Legislative Assembly of National Capital Territory of Delhi – A Handbook, Delhi Legislative Assembly (https://delhiassembly.delhi.gov.in/).
This article first appeared on PRS Legislative Research.
