ABSTRACT
Though there have been tremendous advancements in the field of telecommunications and information management, the very nature and scope of the committee system do not provide any substitute for it. Committees basically examine issues in detail, study the matter from various angles, call evidence from the people who are concerned with the issues and arrive at independent and objective opinion; subsequently, a report is made and it is presented to the House. The committees perform a useful and objective study of a specific issue on behalf of the entire House and in the process, help save a lot of time of the House. With the help of modern telecommunication facilities, governments can directly communicate with the people and, to some extent, this is happening in many countries. Now, parliamentary proceedings and other important events are available to the public live through the television network. Since the purpose of the committee is totally different, there cannot be any alternative to the work of the committees. A committee has to study an issue systematically and bring out the facts before the House. Merely communicating with the public may not be sufficient as far as committee work is concerned. In many democratic countries, modern electronic gadgets have already reached the Chamber of the Parliament and people are in a position to watch the proceedings in an unrestricted manner. The proceedings of the committees are open to the public and the Press in the United States but, beyond this communication function, committees play a very positive and important role in the American system of governance. Hence, whatever the advancements in the field of communications, the committee system will per force have to continue. The committees could, however, venture to improve their functions with the help of the technology
The committee structure, like the parliamentary system of governance, is a continuously evolving and emerging phenomenon. The role and functioning as well as the area of its operations have been ever evolving and over a period of time the committees have come to play a major role in the democratic system. In all the major democracies, the committees have been able to play a very important role. All the important legislative proposals go through the committee stage before they are finally adopted by the House. In fact, it is at the stage of the committee that all aspects of a Bill are discussed threadbare with the report reflecting on diverse aspects of the legislation. Hence committees have been able to carve out an important position for themselves in the democratic system. It has never been static and with the passage of time the number of the reports produced, the volume of work, etc, of the committees have been increasing. This is an indication of the fact that the committee structure and the system as such are not static.
