Kolkata, July 14 (IANS) A special nine-day session for discussions on the departmental budget in the state on the floor of the West Bengal Assembly has been convened this month.
During the session starting from July 17 and ending on July 25, the budgetary allocation for 13 state government departments will be discussed on the floor of the House.
In this special session, the details of departmental budgetary allocations will be placed on the floor of the House by the state ministers incharge of the respective departments, which will be followed by discussions on them.
An insider from the Assembly Secretariat said that the maximum time had been allocated for discussion on the budgetary allocations for the state home department. A total of three hours has been allotted for discussions on the budgetary allocation for the state home department on July 22 and Chief Minister, Suvendu Adhikari will give the final reply on the discussions in the matter.
“During the last 15 years of the Trinamool Congress regime from 2021 to 2026, instances of discussions on departmental budgetary allocations were rare. In most cases, the proposals on departmental budgetary allocations, especially those departments directly controlled by the previous Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, were guillotined without being discussed on the floor of the House. But the new government wants to revive the system of discussions on departmental allocations with special focus on those departments whose functional areas involve larger public interest. The new government wants absolute transparency in the system so that Opposition legislators, too, can give their suggestions in the matter,” said a member of the state Cabinet who did not wish to be named.
A budget “guillotine” is a parliamentary procedure where a legislature fast-tracks the approval of public spending by putting all remaining ministry-wise Demands for Grants to a single vote without further debate.
Although this mechanism is utilised when time is scarce and prevents government shutdowns by ensuring fiscal deadlines are met, the misuse of this provision had often attracted scathing criticisms and described as a tacit approach by the ruling dispensation to avoid discussions on the floor of the House.
Recently, state finance minister, Swapan Dasgupta, a journalist-turned-politician, announced that henceforth the new state government will place the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India on the floor of the West Bengal Assembly, an issue that was totally ignored during the previous Mamata Banerjee-led regime.
–IANS
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