4 sittings, no work: Rs 2 cr a day

Ever since P. Chidambaram presented his 2005-06 budget, Parliament has been in a limbo. The last four sittings, including today, were adjourned following Opposition-led uproar over the Jharkhand governor’s decision to make Shibu Soren CM. Count that a straight loss of nearly Rs 2 crore per day.

If on the first day (after the Budget presentation), both Houses were adjourned over Goa Governor S.C. Jamir’s role in the fall of the Parrikar government, Jharkhand held up proceedings for the next three days. Nonetheless, Parliament has been spending Rs 1.93 crore per day in the assumption that the Houses would function for at least six hours. And the hourly expenditure every day — adjourned or otherwise — Rs 32.16 lakh. ‘‘We cannot make arrangements on the assumption that the sitting would wind up earlier than the usual six hours,’’ parliamentary officials said, adding the expenditure goes up if the sitting continues beyond six hours.

Both Houses have been adjourned till Tuesday for Shivratri after MPs decided to take an extra day off on Monday for a continuous holiday, ostensibly to visit their constituencies. Instead, Parliament would meet on Saturday to make up for the day lost. The Houses will next reconvene on Wednesday. Between 2004 and 2005, the Parliament lost Rs 52 crore and 161.56 hours due to stalling of transaction. The year before, the rough estimates of expenditure incurred by the Lok Sabha is Rs 244.67 crore in 86 sittings; expenses of the Rajya Sabha adds up to Rs 82.24 crore over 85 sittings.