Team Herald
PORVORIM: Opposition members on Friday accused the Sawant government of trying to push its business, including Bills, without discussion and by curtailing the session.
After staging a walk out in protest against the Speaker for not giving a ruling on their request to either refer the government Bills to a Select Committee or to defer them to next session, Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat said that they required time to study most of the important bills.
Kamat said, “The bills were given to us on Thursday night when the second day’s session ended at 4 am on Friday. We reached home at 6 am and within few hours had to leave the house to attend Friday’s session. So how can you expect us to study the bills and give our suggestions within a short time?”
Kamat said that nine bills were passed on Thursday without any discussion.
Kamat said that among the 11 bills passed on the last day, they needed time to study the Goa Mineral Development Corporation Bill and the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill, which need to be discussed in details.
The Opposition leader said that the amendment to the Goa Panchayati Raj Act will have far reaching consequences because Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act supercedes all Acts. The TCP is the technical authority for both – municipal councils and village panchayats.
Poriem MLA Pratapsingh Rane said that the Assembly is the place for discussions and consultations and the government cannot steamroll because it has brute majority. It’s not a fair thing to do.
Marcaim MLA Sudin Dhavalikar said that they wanted time to study the Goa Panchayati Raj Bill, allowing reconstruction of old houses with concrete slabs and RCC poles.
Rohan Khaunte said that MLAs are supposed to legislate and bring laws and Assembly is the place to deliberate upon the new legislations. But the government refused to give us ample time to study the bills.
Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said that the opposition members did not want to be accomplices in passing of the bills, which will have far reaching consequences. The government is hastily passing legislations without discussing them and the Chief Minister is on a fast-track sale of Goa.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said he was ready for discussion on all bills for five hours. But instead of giving suggestions the opposition members preferred to rush to the well of the House and disrupted proceedings.
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Appropriation Bill passed
The State Assembly on Friday passed The Goa Appropriation Bill, 2021-22, amounting to Rs 25,055.64 crore towards defraying the several charges which will arise for payment during the financial year 2021-2022.
Tabling the Bill, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant said that the State Budget was presented in the Legislative Assembly on March 24, 2021 ,while the Demands for Grants were discussed and voted by the Assembly. Therefore, the Goa Appropriation Bill was introduced to provide for appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of Goa, of the monies required for the services and purposes during the financial year.
The Assembly also passed Supplementary Demands for Grants for the current fiscal year involving
Rs 847.16 crore towards defraying the several charges that will come in course of payments.
