Srinagar- Experts from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and senior Parliamentarians are expected to attend a three days orientation programme for the MLAs of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly in Jammu which is scheduled to be held from January 9-11.
One session has been exclusively devoted to the National e-Vidhan Project (NeVA) aimed at making the Legislature paperless.
There are 51 newly elected MLAs among a total of 88 legislators in the House of 90 in the Union Territory.
Reportedly Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather has taken up the issue with senior experts of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and sent letters to the Secretariat of both the Houses through the Assembly inviting them to the orientation course. Apart from the Parliament experts, some Members of Parliament from different political parties have also been approached to deliver the lectures to newly elected MLAs, Daily Excelsior reported.
“The experts as well as the MPs have agreed to visit Jammu and address the MLAs,” the sources said, adding the programme has been scheduled for three days from January 9-11.
The Assembly Secretariat has also written to the Secretary Government of India, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs for deputing resource persons for the purpose
Project NeVA is aimed at digitization and making the Legislature paperless. It is part of the Digital India Initiative and is led by the Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
Several Legislatures across the country have already gone paperless. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly also planned to implement the project. Worthwhile to mention here that there was no Legislature from the middle of 2018 to 2024 till Assembly elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir in September-October and the first session of the House was held from November 4-8.
“Project NeVA is of paramount importance to enable transparent, efficient and technologically advanced legislative process in both the Legislative Assembly complexes at Jammu and Srinagar for which a training/introductory session is required to be held. For the purpose, an expert Resource Person is required to be deputed,” the Legislative Assembly communiqué addressed to the Secretary Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, read.
It said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather are very keen to implement Project NeVA in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly at the earliest.
Besides Project NeVA, the orientation course is aimed at briefing the new MLAs on functioning of the Legislature and how to take up the business in the Legislature including raising questions, issues of public importance, bills, resolutions etc. Focus will be on 51 new MLAs belonging to different political parties in the Legislature.
The orientation course comes ahead of budget session of the Legislature scheduled to be held in the middle of February.
There are 24 first-time MLAs of the National Conference followed by 15 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six Independents, three of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), two from Congress and one of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
In 2015 when a large number of new MLAs won the Assembly elections, the then Chief Minister late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had held similar session in which Abdul Rahim Rather, presently Legislative Assembly Speaker and then not an MLA was invited to lecture the new comers on Rules and Procedures of the House.
Sources said the new MLAs need to be aware of working of the Legislative Assembly. Many States hold similar sessions for first-time MLAs from the experts to ensure that the legislators are well aware of Rules and Procedures of the House and every time the Speaker or the Chairperson is not required to lecture them.
Describing the decision for holding training sessions of new MLAs as “good move”, the experts told Daily Excelsior that this will be in the interest of the legislators as they will get to take advice from the experts and improve their working inside the House.
The National Conference (NC), which has emerged as the single-largest party in the election with 41 seats, has the highest number of debutant MLAs at 24.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which swept the polls in the Jammu winning 29 seats, is second in terms of seats won as well as the number of first-time MLAs. The saffron party has 15 first-time MLAs, accounting for more than half of its tally.
The Congress has two debutant MLAs while six of the seven Independent candidates who won the polls have become members of the elite House for the first time.
All three elected members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the lone Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA are first timers in the Assembly.
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