Rajasthan PAC begins 8-day study tour of Ladakh, J&K, Punjab, Haryana
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
The Rajasthan Legislative Assembly's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), led by Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully, departed Jaipur on Monday, 8 June for an eight-day study tour spanning Leh-Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Haryana, with the delegation scheduled to return on 16 June. The tour is designed to facilitate on-site study of administrative practices and enable direct interactions with corresponding legislative committees in the states and Union Territories being visited.
Committee Members and Delegation
Accompanying PAC Chairman Tika Ram Jully on the tour are committee members Suresh Dhakad, Arjun Lal Jingar, Anita Baghel, Chandrabhan Singh Chauhan, and Vishwanath Meghwal. The delegation represents a cross-section of the Rajasthan Assembly's oversight mechanism, which is responsible for scrutinising government expenditure and financial accountability.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
The committee will spend its first leg in Leh from 8 to 10 June, where discussions are planned around local governance innovations and development initiatives. A meeting with Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena is scheduled during this leg.
On 11 and 12 June, the delegation moves to Jammu & Kashmir for study meetings and inter-committee interactions. Members are scheduled to visit the Vaishno Devi shrine on 13 June. The delegation arrives in Amritsar on 14 June before proceeding to Chandigarh, where joint discussions with the Public Accounts Committees of the Punjab and Haryana legislative assemblies are scheduled for 15 June.
Purpose and Significance
Study tours by legislative committees are a recognised parliamentary practice in India, allowing state committees to benchmark governance models, share best practices, and build institutional relationships with counterpart bodies. For Rajasthan's PAC, the tour provides an opportunity to observe how Ladakh — a newly carved Union Territory since 2019 — has structured its administrative and financial oversight mechanisms, which differ from full-fledged state models.
Notably, the inclusion of both Punjab and Haryana — states with distinct political compositions — signals an intent to study a range of legislative accountability frameworks rather than those aligned to any single party's model.
What Jully Said
'A meeting with Ladakh Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena is also scheduled during the tour. The committee will visit Jammu & Kashmir on June 11 and June 12 and will visit the Vaishno Devi Temple on June 13. Next, arrival in Amritsar is scheduled for June 14, where discussions with the corresponding committees of the Haryana and Punjab Legislative Assemblies are scheduled for June 15 in Chandigarh,' Jully said. The committee is expected back in Jaipur on 16 June.