The State government, in view of COVID-19 threat, is “keeping all options” open on conducting the Assembly session from March 27 as scheduled earlier. It is toying with the proposal to issue an ordinance to meet expenditure in the initial months of the next fiscal, 2020-21.
Incidentally, the Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Employees’ Association has also urged the State government to take the ordinance route to meet the governmental expenditure.
According to information, the State government is exploring the safe line that needs to be adopted. “We are also, in view of the COVID threat, looking at all safeguards that are required. We are looking at (the) safest line,” sources say, indicating that there is a possibility of an ordinance being issued.
Constitutional validity
The association’s demand triggered a debate in the corridors of the Secretariat on the “constitutional validity of such an ordinance.” Association president K. Venkatrami Reddy says that the ordinance route was taken in 2004 in combined Andhra Pradesh. The then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu dissolved the Assembly and went for early polls after the Alipiri incident.
A former TDP Minister, however, says that the present situation cannot be compared with that of 2004. It will be improper to issue an ordinance of this nature if the Assembly is in session. In 2004, the assembly was dissolved. Then the government had every right to issue the ordinance (all ordinances are issued in the name and by the order of the Governor) for expenditure like any other purpose. Under Article 213 of the Constitution, it is fully competent to issue an ordinance on the expenditure for the next financial year. The Article empowers the governments to issue ordinances before getting them approved by an elected house at a later date. But now both Assembly and Council are existing. So, the government cannot take the ordinance route, the former minister contends.
‘No explicit bar’
Constitutional expert Jandhyala Ravi Shankar, however, says, “The government can issue an ordinance in view of the prevailing circumstances, as both houses are not in session.”
He says Article 123(1) empowers the President to promulgate an ordinance when one or both houses are not in session. Article 110 speaks about the competence of the Parliament to legislate on such matters which include money bill. Article 123(3) does not preclude President from promulgating any such ordinance on a matter which Parliament is competent to legislate on. That means Article 110 explicitly does not bar the President from exercising the legislative power. However, once Parliament is in session, the government has to explain the reason to the house that necessitated immediate legislation. However, if the Bill is not passed within six weeks of the assembly of Parliament, all acts done and completed under the ordinance will lapse, he explains.
The government is likely to announce its decision in a day. It has to issue an ordinance or go for at least vote on account if it were to pay salaries to employees and meet day to day expenditure from April 1. The government cannot charge expenditure on the consolidated fund of India after March 31 as the budget 2019-20 ends, sources say.
