AP Government in a fix over conduct of Budget session

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government seems to be weighing different options over the conduct of Budget session this month in view of the elections to the local bodies. While the election process for urban local bodies will conclude on March 14, there is still uncertainty over the polls to mandal and zilla parishads.

As the issue related to the conduct of mandal and zilla parishads is currently pending disposal in the High Court, the government is said to be waiting for clarity to plan things.

In the normal course, the Budget session usually begins in the first or second week of March so that the Finance and Appropriation Bills are passed by the end of the month, ahead of the beginning of the new financial year from April 1.

The government is contemplating whether to take the Ordinance route to get the expenditure for the first three months of the next fiscal approved. In March 2020, the government got an Ordinance promulgated as the Legislature session could not be held due to the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

"Even if the court gives the go ahead for the (mandal and zilla parishad) polls, they may stretch till the end of the month and we can't hold the session.

So we are weighing different options because there is no clarity on the election schedule," a key government source said on Friday.

If the mandal and zilla parishad polls were put off, by any chance, the government might conduct the Budget session for a brief duration ahead of the March 31 deadline, he added.

If this does not happen, the government might take the Ordinance route once again and conduct the Legislature session at a subsequent time to pass the full budget.