Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 31: The State Government has decided to cut short the longest ever budget session of the State Legislature and, for the purpose, has called a meeting of the Presiding Officers of Legislative Assembly and Council and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, who will take a decision within the next few days and revise the calendar, which has already been issued by the Assembly Secretary.
However, the Legislative Council has withheld the issuance of calendar after the Government decision not to hold the lengthy budget session, which was scheduled to last 52 days with 36 sittings, the longest in recent history of the State Legislature.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Government has decided not to go for lengthy budget session, which had earlier been described as historic in the official circles as it’s duration was being enhanced keeping in view the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) guidelines for 100 sitting of Parliament and States Legislatures’ in a year.
“The idea was also to give maximum time to the legislators to raise their issues in the Legislature and make the Government accountable,’’ sources pointed out but said the Government had to re-consider the proposal following apprehensions voiced by some Ministers, bureaucrats and even some legislators that 52 days session would consume lot of time and affect working of their Ministries as well as administration as both would remain confined to the Legislature, thus, hampering the development and other works.
According to sources, the Government has taken the view point of Ministers, officials and even some legislators, who didn’t want such a lengthy session and accordingly called meeting of the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister with Presiding Officers including Legislative Council Chairman Haji Inayat Ali, Speaker Kavinder Gupta, Deputy Chairman Jehangir Mir and Deputy Speaker Nazir Ahmad Gurezi, the Law Secretary and the Secretaries of Assembly and Council among others.
When approached for comments, Speaker Kavinder Gupta confirmed that they would meet shortly and take decision on reducing duration as well as sittings of the Assembly. Deputy Chairman, Legislative Council, Jehangir Mir said the Upper House will issue calendar only after the Assembly comes out with revised calendar by reducing the sittings.
Though there was no official comment, sources said the Assembly might cut down at least 10 sittings, thus, reducing number of the sittings from 36 to 26 or even less. This will also reduce duration of the session from 52 to around 35 or 37 days.
The Assembly and the Council will have their own calendars but, according to sources, the date for Governor’s Address to joint session of the Legislature and presentation of budget by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu will remain unchanged i.e. January 18 and 22 respectively.
Sources said 20 sittings reserved for Demand of Grants of the Ministers in the provisional calendar of Legislative Assembly issued by the Speaker earlier were likely to be cut down by 10 days. The 10 working days for Demand of Grants were likely to be converted into double sittings to adjust all 19 Cabinet Ministers in the State.
Sources added that the Legislative Assembly would issue the revised calendar only after the meeting in which a decision would be taken on reduction of number of days and sittings of budget session of the Legislature.
The Council will issue the calendar only after the Assembly comes out with revised calendar. The Upper House hadn’t issued the calendar after learning that the Government was having second thought on such a lengthy session.
During year 2015, the first of PDP-BJP coalition Government headed by Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the Legislature had just 23 sittings as against 100 recommended by a Parliamentary Standing Committee and unanimity at a conference of the Presiding Officers that the State Assemblies must have 50 to 70 sittings in a year to give legislators all possible opportunities to raise the issues of public.
This year, the budget session in March-April in Jammu, the winter capital of the State, had 16 sittings while autumn session in October in Srinagar, the summer capital of the State had 7 sittings only, totaling 23, which were perhaps lowest as compared to other Assemblies in the country.
According to sources, previous budget sessions in the State used to have maximum 25 to 26 sittings.
As reported, the Government also proposed to convert autumn session of the Legislature into summer session in August, 2016, which is held in Srinagar, and was likely to have minimum of 20 sittings as against seven this year. However, reduction in budget session tenure could also have its echo on the summer session in August and possibility of that session’s duration also being reduced is not ruled out.
The Government had already decided to stick to two sessions a year practice and won’t go for third session as is the practice in Parliament and many other State Assemblies, sources said.
The Parliament and other Assemblies generally have three sessions including Budget, Monsoon and Winter sessions. However, Jammu and Kashmir skips the winter session.
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