Debate hours shrinking with every budget

Parliamentarians seem to be turning increasingly apathetic to the general budget, which touches upon the lives of a large number of people, if the number of hours they spent on debating its proposal is any indication.

A study by the PRS Legislative Research, a voluntary body dedicated to parliamentary research, of the trends over last 25 years reveals that the hours MPs spend deliberating on budget provisions are reducing with every year.

The PRS studied budget debates in parliament from 1984 to 2008.

The members spent the maximum time, 134 hours, on it in 1985, while the least time they gave to the budget was 7.2 hours in 2004.

The PRS study says the discussions on the budget are usually shorter in election years.

It was only during 1984-88 that the number of hours spent debating on the budget was in three figures. It was 134 hours in 1985, followed by 124 in 1986, 114 in 1988, 111 in 1988 and 101.8 hours in 1984.