Dept-wise discussion on budget proposals

After a gap of 15 years, the Legislative Assembly will take up department-wise discussion on budget proposals for the year 2014-15 with ministers replying individually to issues pertaining to their department during the monsoon session commencing from June 23.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Legislative Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa said discussion on 28 departments will be taken up separately during the session.

The practice of discussing the entire budget in one go and the finance minister replying at the end will be discontinued.

“Department-wise discussion on the budget will help in more members participating and issues can be discussed in detail. Ministers will reply at the end of discussion pertaining to their jurisdictional department,” Thimmappa said.

A vote-on-account for four months for budget proposal 2014-15 was passed by the legislature in February.

The government will have to complete the entire budget exercise by July 31 this year.

Department-wise discussion on the budget was practised once in 1998-99, but discontinued with the formation of a subject committee. The subject committee too was discontinued later and discussing the entire budget in one go became the practice.

The monsoon session will conclude on July 30. The government was keen that the legislature did business at least for 60 days a year, Thimmappa said.