Congress Shoots a Rs 10,000-cr Question

BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition Congress has taken strong exception to the expenditure of nearly Rs10,000 crore by the State Government during the last five years without budget allocation and threatened to raise the issue in the monsoon session of the Assembly. This is an instance of how the importance of the legislature has been systematically undermined by the executive during the tenure of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Opposition Chief Whip in the Assembly Prasad Harichandan told this paper. This has become a trend in this government as 23 departments spent beyond their budgetary allocation, he said. The excess expenditure without the approval of the legislature has been exposed by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The Assembly committee has already held seven meetings on this matter. Harichandan said the entire matter would come to the fore after a few more meetings of the committee. The panel is likely to submit its report during the monsoon session. Sources said the budget session is likely to start from August 17. Generally, the session begins in July last week or August first week. The excess expenditure will be another grist to the Opposition mill. Besides the multi-crore mining scam and irregularities in the procurement of pulses for the midday meal (MDM), the horsetrading incident during the Rajya Sabha polls last year will also be raised by the Opposition. This is not for the first time that the State Government tried to undermine the authority of the legislature. Harichandan said the Opposition had staged symbolic Assembly in 2010 when the budget session was abruptly adjourned. The Government has always wanted to bypass the Opposition in the House, he said adding that the excess expenditure was only a reflection of that trend. An unperturbed  Finance Minister Prafulla Ghadei told mediapersons that the entire matter will be thoroughly examined,