Parliamentary standing committee meetings called off as 400 staffers infected with COVID-19
According to sources, 65 staffers of Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 200 of Lok Sabha Secretariat and 133 of allied services have tested positive for Covid-19 between January 4-8 during regular tests.
FollowWith the spike in Covid-19 cases in Delhi and nearly 400 staffers working with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats and allied services testing positive for coronavirus, the Parliament standing committee meetings have been cancelled.
Sources said that the meeting of parliamentary standing committees on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice Chairperson, Urban Development, and Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology have decided to cancel their meetings on Monday. Decision to call off the meeting of the standing committee of External Affairs, scheduled later this week is likely to be taken later in the day.
According to sources, 65 staffers of Rajya Sabha Secretariat, 200 of Lok Sabha Secretariat and 133 of allied services have tested positive for Covid-19 between January 4-8 during regular tests. The development comes days before the Budget session of Parliament, which usually begins at the end of January.
Also read: Coronavirus: India logs 1,79,723 new COVID-19 cases, 12.6% spike from Sunday; Omicron tally at 4,033
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has reimposed restrictions on attendance of officials and staffers after the surge in cases among employees. According to the latest directions, 50 per cent of officials and staff below the rank of under secretary or executive officer are required to work from home till the end of this month. They constitute about 65 per cent of the total employees.
A similar situation was also witnessed in the last two years in the previous Covid waves when standing committee meetings had to be called for months, leading to several members of Parliament asking both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha chairpersons to allow the panel meetings to function virtually. In the coming days, this debate is likely to be reignited.
It was brought to the notice of the members by both custodians of the house that the standing committee meetings are confidential and cannot be held in the virtual mode. In need for any change, it has to be made only in physical mode and passed by Parliament.
