Punjab Legislative Assembly

In the British Raj, an Executive Council was formed under The Indian Councils Act, 1861. It was only under the Government of India Act 1919 that a Legislative Council was set up in Punjab. Later, under the Government of India Act 1935, the Punjab Legislative Assembly was constituted with a membership of 175. It was summoned for the first time on 1 April 1937. In 1947, Punjab Province was partitioned into West Punjab and East Punjab and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly was formed, the forerunner of the current assembly consisting of 79 members.

After the independence of India, on 15 July 1948, eight princely states of East Punjab grouped together to form a single state, Patiala and East Punjab States Union. The Punjab State Legislature was a bicameral house in April 1952, comprising the Vidhan Sabha (lower house) and Vidhan Parishad (upper house). In 1956 that state was largely merged into Punjab, the strength of the Vidhan Parishad of the new State of Punjab was enhanced from 40 seats to 46 seats and in 1957, it was increased to 51. Punjab was trifurcated in 1966 to form Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. The Vidhan Parishad was reduced to 40 seats and the Vidhan Sabha was grown by 50 seats to 104 seats. On 1 January 1970, the Vidhan Parishad was abolished leaving the state with a unicameral legislature.[1]

The legislature comprises the governor and the Punjab Legislative Assembly, which is the highest political organ in the state. The governor has the power to summon the assembly or to close the same. All members of the legislative assembly are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the eligible voters who are above 18 years of age. The current assembly consists of 117 elected members. The elected members select one of its own members as its chairperson who is called the speaker of the assembly. The speaker is assisted by the deputy speaker who is also elected by the members. The conduct of a meeting in the house is the responsibility of the speaker.

The main function of the assembly is to pass laws and rules. Every bill passed by the house has to be finally approved by the governor before it becomes applicable.

The normal term of the legislative assembly is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting.[2]

In the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative Assembly, 92 members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party form the treasury benches. The main opposition party in the assembly is Indian National Congress with 18 seats. The other parties which are in opposition are the Shiromani Akali Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and independents. AAP MLA, Kultar Singh Sandhwan was announced as the speaker of the assembly.[3]

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took the oath of office on 16 March at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh. Inderbir Singh Nijjar took the oath as Protem Speaker. On 17 March Nijjar administered the oath of office to all the 117 legislators of the Sixteenth Punjab Legislative assembly.[4] Other 10 cabinet ministers of the Mann ministry, took oath on 19 March.

On 22 June 2022, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan announced that the Punjab legislators will get answers on all issues that they raise during the Assembly debates. The answers would be provided during the Zero Hour. This was done for the first time in the history of Punjab Assembly.[5]

List of committees and chairpersons for the term 2022-2023.[13]

• ^ - Party didn't contest election
• ~ - Party didn't exist
• - Green color box indicates the party/parties who formed the government
• - Red color box indicates the official opposition party

Committee on Local Bodies

Committee of the House
16th Punjab Assembly
State	Punjab
Leadership
Chaiperson	Jagroop Singh Gill
Chairperson party	Aam Aadmi Party
Appointer	Punjab Assembly speaker
Structure
Seats	13
Political Parties	AAP (11)   INC (2)
Election criteria	The members are elected every year from amongst its members of house according to the principle of proportional representation.
Tenure	1 Year
Jurisdiction
Purpose	Legislative oversight of the Local Bodies
Rules & Procedure
Applicable rules	Article 208 of the Constitution of India Section 32 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 Rules 232(1) and 2(b) of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Punjab Legislative Assembly

Punjab Assembly Committee on Local Bodies of Punjab Legislative Assembly is constituted annually for a one-year period from among the members of the Assembly. This Committee consists of thirteen members.[18][19][20] The chairperson and the members are appointed by the Punjab Assembly speaker. In 2021, Punjab Assembly 'Committee Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions' has been split into committees, namely 'Committee on Local Bodies' and 'Committee on Panchayati Raj Institutions'.[21]

The purpose of the committee is to do a Legislative oversight of the Local Bodies and institutions in Punjab state. The committee also conducts surveys and inspections to observe, inspect and collect information on the work done by the local bodies.[22][23] It also monitors the work of the Punjab Pollution Control Board.[24]

• PEPSU
• Interim East Punjab Assembly
• Elections in Punjab
• List of governors of Punjab (India)
• List of constituencies of Punjab Legislative Assembly
• List of deputy chief ministers of Punjab, India
• List of speakers of the Punjab Legislative Assembly
• List of leaders of the opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly

• "Record of all Punjab Assembly Elections". eci.gov.in. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 14 March 2022.