Budget session ends on stormy note

Hyderabad, Mar 28 (UNI) Rocked by the Gangavaram police firing and alleged Rs 400 crore fraud in awarding of a contract for the Sripadasagar Project, the 31-day budget session of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly ended on a stormy note with the house adopting the Appropriation Bill without debate for the first time in the history of the state.

Even as the opposition continued to stall proceedings when the house reassembled after adjournment, the Speaker put the all important appropriation and other government bills to vote and declared that they were adopted.

He announced appointment of chairmen of legislative committes and the party position in the Assembly and adjourned the house sine die.

The house witnessed a prolonged debate for 16 days on the alleged escalation of cost of the Sripadasagar Irrigation project before the government decided to place files relating to the project before Major Irrigation Minister P Lakshmaiah, rejecting the opposition demand for putting them before the Speaker.

The house adopted 12 bills, including one for regulating quality of aquaculture seeds, for creation of three new universities in the state and amending the Panchayatraj Act ahead of the polls to rural local bodies.

The session saw ministers making six statements, including the one by Home Minister K Jana Reddy on the police firing in Gangavaram which left one person dead and 60 injured.

The Speaker announced that the house worked for 143 hours and 46 minutes with members eliciting replies to 199 starred questions and 105 unstarred questions and 28 short notice questions. As many as 640 supplementaries were answered.

The Speaker disallowed all the 161 adjournment motions given notice of by opposition parties on various issues.

The Speaker announced the party position in the 295-member house: Congress(184), TDP(46), TRS(26), CPI(M)-9, CPI(6), AIMIM(5), BJP (2), Janata Party(2), BSP (1), Samajwadi Party(1), Independents(11), Nominated(1), Vacant 1.

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