With the Andhra Pradesh government left in a helpless situation in conducting the budget session of the assembly in the wake of fast spreading of Coronavirus, it has decided to follow the ordinance route to pass a vote-on-account budget just for the first three months.
The state cabinet headed by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, which met in Amaravati on Friday, approved the decision to promulgate an ordinance for adopting a vote-on-account budget for the first three months of 2020-21 financial year.
“In the normal course, the full-fledged budget of the state for 2020-21 should have been approved by March 31. But because of the fast spreading of the Coronavirus positive cases in the state, the cabinet felt that it is not appropriate to hold the budget session of the assembly now,” minister for information and public relations Perni Nani told reporters.
The cabinet decided that a vote-on-account budget be passed through an ordinance as per Article 213 (1) of the Constitution of India.
The ordinance helps the state to draw money from the consolidated fund of the state for meeting the day-to-day expenses of the state apart from paying salaries to its employees in the first three months.
“We shall meet Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan shortly to get his assent for the ordinance,” the minister said.
