Chief Minister N. Rangasamy will present the budget for the Union Territory for the fiscal 2015-16 when the Assembly reconvenes on April 22.
Mr. Rangasamy who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to make the budget presentation in the Assembly at 9.30 a.m. on Wednesday.
The House had its meeting earlier on March 25 when a Vote on Account Bill earmarking Rs.1483.33 crore was presented for the first three months (April to June) due to the delay in securing plan size by the governing council of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
Mr. Rangasamy will be presenting his 12th budget after he became the Chief Minister earlier during the Congress regime in 2001 and after floating his fledgling outfit AINRC in 2011.
Chief Minister N. Rangasamy on Monday chaired a meeting of the cabinet in the Legislative Assembly to finalise the proposals and discuss issues related to the budget.
Budget speech approved
The cabinet also approved the budget speech on the opening day of the session as per the requirement.
The Business Advisory Committee will meet on April 22 to decide on the agenda and the number of working days for the budget session.
With elections a year away Mr. Rangasamy is expected to present a populist and tax-free budget.
Meanwhile, the entire opposition has started preparing its plans to draw the attention of the Puducherry government to various shortcomings in the administration.
AIADMK Deputy Legislature party leader A. Anbalagan said the party would function as a constructive opposition.
“We will demand the government to present a white paper to show a clear picture on the UT’s current financial position. The government has failed to implement the promises announced in the previous budgets,” Mr. Anbalagan said.
AIADMK will also be raising a number of issues including cash for free rice scheme, back door appointment and poor financial health of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) such as PAPSCO and PASIC, he said.
A senior Congress leader said that the House was likely to be adjourned to Monday after the budget was presented.
The party will identify the pressing issues that need to be raised in the Assembly, he said.
