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Supplementary budget presented in House

BHUBANEWSWAR: Even as the Assembly witnessed noisy scenes on the opening day of the winter session on Wednesday, Finance Minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai placed the first supplementary budget of Rs. 7,587.69 crore for the year 2008-09.

Mr. Ghadai presented the supplementary budget proposals a few minutes before the proceedings of the Assembly were adjourned for the day as the Bharatiya Janata Party legislators stalled the business of the House.

The introduction of several Bills that were scheduled to be introduced during the day were also deferred as normalcy could not be restored despite assurances from Speaker Kishore Mohanty that the issue raised by the BJP will be placed before the Business Advisory Committee for discussion in the House.

The BJP MLAs were demanding immediate arrest those who killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati and four others in Kandhamal on August 23 this year.

Giving details of the supplementary budget later, Mr. Ghadai said that a sum of Rs. 499 crore had been allocated for making rice available for below poverty line families at a cost of Rs. 2 per kg.

Additional funds had also been allocated for the disaster management fund increasing the amount from Rs. 150 crore to Rs. 400 crore.

More funds were also allocated for providing bloc grant to schools and additional financial support to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

The supplementary budget also had provision for the possible increase in the salary of the State government employees and pension in the light of the report of the fitment committee that had been set up in view of the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, Mr. Ghadai said.

Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) blamed the BJP for allegedly blackmailing the Biju Janata Dal by stalling the proceedings of the Assembly.

In a statement, secretary of the party’s State Committee Janardan Pati said the BJP legislators stalled the proceedings in their attempt to make the government tow the communal line.

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Supplementary budget presented in House

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