Bhubaneswar: Appropriation Bill for Rs 95,000 crore was passed in the Odisha Assembly on Wednesday following which the House was adjourned to meet again on August 20.
With this the first phase of the budget session of the Assembly, came to a close. Speaker Surama Padhy adjourned the House after the passage of the Appropriation Bill. The House was adjourned till 10.30 am of August 20.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who holds the Finance portfolio, had presented a 2nd vote-on-account during the current financial year in the Assembly to meet the expenditure for implementation of government schemes and other administrative requirements for two months.
The second vote-on-account of 95,000 crore is for the months of August and September.
The first vote-on-account of Rs 1.18 lakh crore placed by the previous BJD government on February 8, in view of the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, was for four months of the 2024-25 financial year.
Speaking after introducing the measure, the Chief Minister said that the need for second vote-on-account arose as the Appropriation Bill for the 2024-25 budget will be placed for approval in the Assembly on September 10. Since the first vote-on-account will last till July 31, there was a need to take the approval of the House for making provision for functioning of the government for the next two months.
Notably, the Mohan Majhi government is likely to launch several flagship schemes, including Subhadra Yojana and paddy purchase from farmers at minimum support price of Rs 3,100 per quintal, during the next two months.
