In 2024, Telangana assembly held 18 assembly sittings on average; Andhra held 19

Hyderabad: The Congress government in Telangana held an 18-day Assembly session in 2024. It was the first time in 10 years that the Congress held a session after coming to power.

Neighbouring Andhra Pradesh led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu held the 19 day session ( one day more than Telangana).

It Is pertinent to note that the average business days of state assemblies have drastically dropped. Assembly working days have dropped to less than 30 which is much below than average.

The primary aim of an assembly session is:

1. Holding the government accountable

2. Discussing and approving the finances of the government

3. Scrutinising, passing bills, and discussing the budget for the state.

In 2024, the Telangana Legislative Assembly held discussions on budget for 10 days, while AP held budget session for 6 days.

From 2017-2024., the average sittings of Telangana assembly were 29. In Andhra Pradesh it was 19.

Some of the bills passed by the Telangana assembly and council include:

1. The Scheduled Caste (SC) Categorisation Bill was unanimously enacted by the Telangana Legislative Assembly, taking a crucial step toward fulfilling long-standing Dalit aspirations for equal representation.

2. A bill prohibiting hookah parlours in the state was unanimously approved by the Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council

Delhi-based organization PRS Legislative Research studied the functioning of 28 state assemblies. According to its findings, in 2024, state legislatures passed more than 500 bills and scrutinised their state budgets, cumulatively worth over Rs 58 lakh crore.

Findings of the report -

1. State Assemblies met for 20 days on average. The average duration of each sitting was 5 hours. Odisha met for the highest number of days (42), followed by Kerala (38). Among the larger states, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh met for 16 days each. In 2024, states discussed budgets for seven days on average.

2. Between 2017 and 2024, Kerala met for 44 days on average, followed by Odisha (40) and Karnataka.

3. From 28 days in 2017, the average number of sitting days of Assemblies came down to 16 during the pandemic-affected 2020. Since then, it has remained close to 20 days a year.

4. Some states have set a target for the minimum number of annual sitting days either through legislation or through the Rules of Procedure. None of them has met these targets in any year.

5. On average, states passed 17 Bills in 2024. Of the 500+ bills passed, Karnataka passed the highest (49), followed by Tamil Nadu (45). While Delhi passed 1 Bill, Rajasthan passed.

About half of the bills passed relate to three broad areas: education, finance, and local governance. Some interesting laws enacted during the year included the Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code, West Bengal Aparajita Act (stricter penalty for rape), laws across several states to curb unfair practices in public exams, Haryana’s law to regulate private coaching institutes and MP’s to regulate private school fees.

Tamil Nadu earmarked welfare spending for SC/ST in proportion to population, and Maharashtra provided 10% reservation for Marathas for education and government jobs. Following a Supreme Court judgement in July 2024 allowing states to levy taxes on mineral rights, several states passed laws to do so.

Gujarat banned black magic, and Assam banned magical healing practices to treat diseases. Maharashtra increased the penalty for felling a tree without permission.

Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu amended their Agricultural Produce Marketing laws. Haryana, Karnataka, and Telangana banned hookah bars or the serving hookahs in restaurants or bars.