SOP issued on answering queries in Haryana Assembly

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Chandigarh, February 29

The government has issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) aimed at ensuring uniformity in the process of preparing answers to questions raised in the Assembly.

A letter written by Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal to all administrative secretaries stated that since ministers usually responded in Hindi, answers must primarily be drafted in Hindi and then translated into English.

Furthermore, the SOP emphasised the need for precise and concise responses. Answers to questions must not exceed 50 words and in case it does, it should be presented in the form of a statement, to be laid on the table of the House.

Additionally, the SOP stated that answers must avoid tabular figures, columns, rows, or graphs/bar diagrams, unless attached to a statement laid on the table of the House. It was said this approach was logical as the contents of tables could be difficult for the minister concerned to decipher making it harder for them to furnish a proper reply.

According to the SOP, the notepad must be divided into four parts. The first part would include the content of the answers in Hindi while the second part in English. The third part would contain background notes and the fourth part would include possible supplementary questions and their drafts.

The SOP further specified that many questions contained two parts — Part-A pertaining to whether a particular project had been decided by the government and Part-B containing details if the answer to Part-A was affirmative. In cases where the answer was negative, the response could be formulated by combining parts A and B and simply stating ‘no, sir’.

Often, answers are answered with ‘no, sir’ in Part-A and ‘question does not arise’ in Part-B, which may come across as rude and is disliked by members. In such cases, the order said, combining parts A and B and stating ‘no, sir’ was suggested for a more respectful response.