The productivity of Rajya Sabha hit a low of 37.60 percent during the third week of the ongoing Winter Session owing to disruptions and forced adjournments over the issue of suspension of 12 members of the House, officials said yesterday.
The House's cumulative function was pulled down by the continued disruptions for the first three weeks to 46.70 percent, the RS secretariat said.
The productivity of Rajya Sabha was 49.70 per cent and 52.50 per cent during the first and second week, according to the data collected by the secretariat.
The House could only function for 10 hours 14 minutes a week, losing 62.40 per cent of the total sitting time due to disruptions and forced adjournments on the issue of suspension of 12 members of the House, the officials said.
During the third week, the Question Hour, meant for ensuring the accountability of the government, suffered the most, with only four of the 75 listed Starred Questions being answered by the concerned ministers, according to the RS secretariat.
62.70 per cent of the time allocated for Question Hour was spent on government policy, while only 11.40 per cent of the time available for the week was spent on the government's legislative business.
Three bills were passed and returned during the week after discussion for a total of 6 hours and 25 minutes in which 33 members participated.
A short-term discussion on the situation arising out of the cases of the Omicron variant of COVID- 19' taken up during the week remained inconclusive. The discussion is on the schedule for a resumption Monday, the officials said.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu adjourned the House on Friday after 17 minutes of Zero Hour, and urged the government and the Opposition to resolve the stalemate on the suspension issue.
The House functioned for less than an hour a day for six sittings during the 15 sittings of the first three weeks of the ongoing Winter Session, according to official data.
The House's legislative business passes a total of eight bills so far, and only about 18 per cent of the time spent on the Question Hour has been spent on the Question Hour, with only 56 of the 217 answered orally, according to the secretariat.
81 Zero Hour and 47 Special Mentions were made in the House during the three weeks of the Winter Session.
The Mediation Bill, 2021, aims to promote resolution of disputes including commercials, is scheduled to be introduced in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Amendment Bill, 2021, passed by Lok Sabha, has been listed for consideration and passing on Monday.