Maharashtra faux pas holds up budget

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Thursday suffered a major embarrassment when two different versions of the Appropriation Bill were passed by the state legislature. The result is that the government’s budget is now held up by the state legislature.
The Appropriation Bill, of Rs 38,000 crore, already passed by the state Legislative Assembly, was before the Legislative Council for approval. However, in the Council, the leader of the Opposition Nitin Gadkari and BT Deshmukh moved an amendment asking the government to allocate Rs 2,751 crore for incomplete irrigation projects in the backward areas of the state.
Surprisingly, members of the ruling party, including some ministers, supported the amendments to the bill which was approved unanimously by the Council.
However, according to Article 198 of the Constitution, if the Legislative Council amends a bill which has already been passed by the Legislative Assembly, the bill has to be sent back to the Assembly for a final decision.
In this case, both Houses of the state Legislature were prorogued today after the five-week long budget session.
The implication now is that the government has to convene a special session of the Assembly to decide the fate of the Appropriation Bill. “Unless the Assembly takes final decision, the government will not be able to access the budgeted funds. A special session can be called with 24 hours notice,� a high level official said.
The prorogation order by the state governor Mohammed Fazal was read out in the Assembly by the Speaker Arun Gujrathi and by chairman NS Pharande in the Council.