Mumbai, Jan 29:
The 84th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference (AIPOC), which was inaugurated on January 27 concluded on Sunday. On the conclusion of the conference, various resolutions were adopted, which include:
Resolution 1 Urges Parliament and State/UT Legislatures to review and align Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, taking into account current realities, to enable effective functioning of the legislative bodies in accordance with the letter and spirit of our Constitution.
Resolution 2 Encourage Parliament, State, and UT Legislatures to take effective steps at capacity-building of grassroot Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies to further help strengthen the vibrant and ancient democratic ethos of our country.
Resolution 3 It recommends legislative bodies in India adopt and promote emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), for improving efficiency, transparency, productivity, and engagement with citizens.
Resolution 4 Recognizing the important role of legislative committees, AIPOC resolves to explore ways and means to improve their effectiveness in enforcing the accountability of the executive.
Resolution 5 Resolve that AIPOC will take pro-active measures to implement “One Nation, One Legislative Platform” for resource and experience sharing between legislatures and closer public engagement with the citizens
Referring to the best practices of legislative bodies, Lok Sabha Speaker Birla lauded the suggestion for establishing channels of communication among democratic institutions at the central, state, and grassroots levels. In this regard, he referred to the outreach program organized by the Lok Sabha and suggested that state legislatures should organise similar programmes.
Strongly pitching for the use of technology in legislatures to make them more effective and efficient, Birla said that suggestions have been received from some state legislatures for a model IT policy by the Lok Sabha and to share them with state legislative bodies. He further informed me that this suggestion will be discussed in detail and appropriate action will be taken.
