Bhubaneswar: All the Lawmakers and their personal staff will undergo RTPCR test for the winter session of Odisha Legislative Assembly begins from 1 December.
The winter session will be held like the previous sessions with strict observance of the Covid 19 guidelines, Speaker Surya Narayan Patro said here on Thursday.
All members, Assembly staff, media persons will have to undergo RT-PCR test before the commencement of the session. He said the test will be conducted on November 28, 29 and 30 inside the Assembly premises and only those who tested Covid negative will be allowed entry into the Assembly premises.
The seating arrangement for the members would be made in House, Speaker Gallery and Public Gallery maintaining social distancing norms. Members unable to attend the house in person can participate in the proceedings of the house through video conferencing, the Speaker informed.
Mr.Patro said the time for how long the Assembly will function daily will be decided in the all party meeting scheduled to be held on November 29 in consultation with the members. The sanitization of the house will be conducted daily.
The session will have 26 working days and continue till 31 December. On the first day, the Supplementary Budget will be presented while the Appropriation Bill will be tabled on 10 December.
Two days ago, the Council of Ministers gave its nod for the first supplementary budget for the year 2021-22. According to sources, the council has given approval for an outlay Rs 19,380 crore for the Supplementary Spending.
Last year, a supplementary budget of a whopping Rs 11,200 crore was presented in the Assembly. However, as Panchayat elections are nearing, the Government has enhanced the budgetary allocation to fund some major rural development projects and schemes, the sources said.
Covid response related to health, food & social security, livelihood programs, employment generation etc. Besides, funds for KALIA, BSKY, Mamata, Mission Shakti and other schemes are likely to be given priority, they said.
