Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee [Images] Tuesday asked statutory bodies to draw up rules and regulations clearly as he acknowledged that legislatures have become bound to substantially delegate rule-making powers.

"Constitutional conformity and parliamentary mandate should always be borne in mind while drafting rules," the speaker said in his inaugural address to a conference of chairmen of Committees on Subordinate Legislation of Parliament and State/Union Territory Legislatures.

He said statutory bodies should write rules and regulations that people can understand easily.

"Obfuscation cannot be a virtue under any circumstances," Chatterjee remarked as he urged the watchdog subordinate legislation committees to help the executive in proper discharge of duties.

The speaker complimented the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the 14th Lok Sabha for its job as he pointed out that the panel had "justifiably" urged caution in delegating legislative powers to the executive.

"In its first report, the committee has rightly stressed that the delegation should be made specific and that provisions of extreme nature should be provided in the parent act itself and should not form part of the rules," Chatterjee said.

In his address to the conference, N N Krishnadas, chairman of the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Lok Sabha, urged the panel to ensure that the authority of Parliament was not undermined.

The committee, he said, should also ensure that sanctity of the principles of law was upheld and operations of law were purposeful and free from obstructions.

The conference, also attended by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal and Minister of State for Law K Venkatapathy, was being held after a gap of nearly two decades.

Discussions were held on matters like legislations by reference, time-limit for framing rules, examination of bills and legislative competence to modify rules and regulations.