‘Govt failed to implement assurances given to MPs’

The shocking revelation has come to notice in the 62nd report of the Committee on Government Assurances

NEW DELHI: It’s not that only common people are at the receiving end when it comes to fulfillment of promises being made by the government as the Centre has failed to implement its assurances given to Members of Parliament during different sessions of the House.

The shocking revelation has come to notice in the 62nd report of the Committee on Government Assurances that was tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

As per the report, as many as 21 assurances (upto the 6th session of the 17th Lok Sabha) are still pending for implementation with some of them even after a lapse of time ranging from two to four years.

Expressing its displeasure over the ministry’s apathy, the Committee, which is led by Rajendra Prasad, in its report said, “This is indicative of the fact that the monitoring and follow up action taken for implementation of assurances by the ministry need to be further strengthened with a greater sense of alacrity and responsibility.”

“The Committee is fully aware that implementation of some of the assurances related to policy matters and involving other ministries especially pertaining to maintenance aspects of infrastructure may require more time. However, proactive and sustained efforts need to be made to implement the assurances which are solemn Parliamentary obligations,” the report said.

However, the House Panel observed that lack of coordination between the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, the nodal ministry for implementation of assurances, is one of the major reasons behind delays in the fulfillment of certain assurances pertaining to the ministry.

The Committee, therefore, impress upon the MoRTH to adopt a proactive approach, sensitize their officials concerned about the importance of Parliamentary assurance to enhance the level of coordination with other ministries concerned for expeditious implementation of all the pending assurances as well as assurances to be made in future, the report said.

The Committee has also recommended that MoRTH utilise all the modern technologies and software packages, including project monitoring information system optimally to track the implementation of various road projects, and collect the requisite information at every stage for time bound implementation of assurances.