Rebel Trinamool Congress MLA Kanaia Lal Agarwal was appointed chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday, an official said. Agarwal belongs to Ritabrata Banerjee's camp of the Trinamool Congress. The PAC is one of the legislature's most important financial oversight panels, which examines government expenditure and scrutinises audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). Traditionally, the PAC has been headed by a member of the opposition party to ensure independent scrutiny of the executive.
The officials said elections are held for only a handful of House committees after the constitution of a new Assembly. Among them, the PAC is considered the most prestigious. The committee can have up to 20 members, including the chairman, he pointed out. The other House committees for which elections may be held are the Committee on Public Undertakings, the Committee on Estimates and the Committee on Local Fund Accounts.
"The Assembly functions on the basis of the official status of its members. Parliamentary conventions are important, but the Rules of Procedure and the records of the House determine eligibility for committee positions," a senior Assembly official said on condition of anonymity.