Bhubaneswar: The Budget session of Odisha Legislative Assembly will be held from February 5 and continue till February 13. The session will have altogether seven working days.
Odisha Governor Raghubar Das will address the inaugural day of the session on February 5. The debate on the address of the Governor will continue till February 7.
Finance Minister Bikram Keshari Arukha will present the interim budget for the first four months of financial year 2024-2025 on February 8.
This will be the last session of the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly as the State will go to the Assembly polls in 2024 along with the General elections. So, the Government has decided to lay Vote on Account instead of full Budget this time.
Meanwhile, Opposition BJP and Congress urged the State Government to prepare the Budget in a proper way so that funds should not be misutilised.
BJP MLA Nauri Naik said the BJD Government has allocated Rs 2 lakh to each Panchayat in the name of Arpan Rath and spent the fund like a party fund.
Similarly, Congress legislator Adhiraj Panigrahi said all major issues including the paddy procurement issue should be discussed on the floor of the House during the session. “I Hope the Government would look into all aspects and bring a well balanced pro-people Budget,” he said.
Commenting on this, BJD leader and Government Chief Whip Prasant Muduli said, “The State Government had presented a pro-people and progressive budget with allocation of funds for various projects and welfare schemes in past years. The Opposition did not get anything to raise questions about it. This year too, a good interim budget will be placed before the House,” Shri Muduli said.
