Paperless Winter Session cut paper use by 3.38 lakh pages, saved 40 trees: Vijender Gupta

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Monday said digital documentation in the recently concluded paperless Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly yielded Rs 1.69 lakh in savings, cut paper use by more than 3.38 lakh pages and helped protect 40.56 trees, besides reducing carbon emissions.

An internal assessment of reduced paper use during the legislative session indicates measurable environmental and financial savings achieved by avoiding the printing of question papers, Bills, and other official documents, officials said.

According to the assessment, the Question Branch alone accounted for 2,24,000 pages: 320 questions printed at an average of 10 pages per question, with 70 copies each. The Bills Branch accounted for 64,000 pages: Four Bills, each comprising 100 pages, with 160 copies per Bill.

In addition, miscellaneous branch work, including internal notes, drafts, circulation papers, corrections, agenda papers and notices, was estimated at 50,000 pages per session.

“In total, 3,38,000 pages were avoided in a single session, which was equivalent to saving nearly 40.5 trees that would be required for 1,690.44 metric tonnes of paper as well as reducing 4 to 4.5 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” Gupta said.

At 50 paise per page, it also led to the saving of Rs 1.69 lakh in printing costs.

The Winter Session of the eighth Delhi Assembly was held from January 5 to 9, comprising five sittings and 12 hours and 39 minutes of proceedings, the speaker said. The Delhi Assembly went paperless by implementing the National e-Vidhan Application from the Monsoon Session last year.

During the Winter Session, 351 question notices were received, including 60 starred and 263 unstarred, along with 124 special mentions. Of these, 33 special mentions have been forwarded to the relevant departments, with directions to respond within 30 days, Gupta said.

Citing the recent issue of “insult” to Guru Tegh Bahaur during the session last Tuesday, allegedly by Leader of Opposition Atishi, Gupta said he acted with utmost restraint and strictly in accordance with constitutional and parliamentary norms, without taking any immediate or arbitrary decision.

“The Chair directed that the exact words spoken be recorded verbatim, that objections raised by members and demands for action be duly noted, and that the factual position be carefully ascertained before arriving at any conclusion,” he said.

Gupta also expressed “serious concern” about attempts outside the House, and even beyond Delhi’s territorial jurisdiction, to “influence or interfere” with a matter already under active consideration of the Committee of Privileges.

The Speaker has directed for forensic examination of a clip of the Assembly proceedings, which was shared by the BJP MLAs as well as Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, accusing Atishi of disrespecting the ninth Sikh Guru.

The matter has been referred to the Privileges Committee of the House.