Mumbai, June 24 -- Opening a new chapter of cooperation between Parliament and state assemblies, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has planned a series of meetings on House committees. The first one - to mark the 75 years of the Estimates Committee - started in Mumbai on Monday. The estimates panel of Parliament, first formed in 1950, deals with efficiency and economy in administration. Currently, Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Sanjay Jayaswal heads the estimates panel of Parliament. Birla told HT that more such meetings are being planned. "These meetings aim to bring the state assembly panels and the Parliamentary committees on the same platform to discuss best practices and learn from each other." One of the key objectives of such meetings, officials familiar with the matter added, is also to help states improve the performance of their own House committees so that respective governments are compelled to accept more suggestions from these bodies. "In Parliament, the government accepts 75-90% suggestions of House panels. But in Himachal Pradesh, the average acceptance is only 15%," said one of the officials cited above, offering one instance. Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh told HT that upcoming meetings will include those of committees on petitions, government assurances and empowerment of women. The next meeting will be on the women's empowerment panel and might be held in Andhra Pradesh. Under Birla, who will complete six years in Lok Sabha's top post on June 26, efforts to enhance capacities of the assemblies have multiplied, but this is the first time that panel-specific meetings are being organised. Addressing the meeting in the Maharashtra assembly, Birla said, "It was the first Lok Sabha Speaker's (GV Mavalankar) farsightedness that on April 10, 1950 the estimates committee was formed for oversight on resources and correct use of resources." "The government has accepted 75% to 90% of the recommendations of the panels. We have reduced corruption, made governance more effective. The panels even go on field visit and see if resources are spent correctly and how it impacts people. The best practices of assemblies will be discussed. A mechanism will be developed so that both the centre and the states work in a better way," he added....