Atishi's proposal to extend Delhi Assembly budget session gets approval

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Finance Minister Atishi proposed to extend the Budget Session of the Delhi Assembly that began on Thursday, until the end of February or the first week of March, to facilitate comprehensive discussions post-presentation.

According to officials, approval for the budget was given by the Lieutenant Governor (LG) on Wednesday.

Now the budget is en route to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the process of final approval and presidential assent will take 10-15 days.

During the session on Thursday, the House accepted the Finance Minister’s proposal and passed it by voice vote.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also proposed the election of financial committees with the permission of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Ram Niwas Goel. It was passed by a voice vote.

However, the date for presenting Delhi's budget in the House has not been decided yet.

Regarding this, Atishi informed the House that the budget's preparation took longer than expected, leading to delays in its finalisation.

“We received LG Saheb's approval on Wednesday. Earlier the budget was passed by the Cabinet on February 11, and on Tuesday, it was sent to the LG for his assent. There has been no delay from the LG's side. Today the budget will be sent to the MHA,” she added.

“It takes approximately 10-15 days for the budget's final approval and presidential assent. I estimate that the budget won't be presented before February 25. It is possible that the budget will be presented after February 25,” she stated.