PANAJI
As the four-day Budget session of the Goa legislative Assembly begins on Monday, keen tussles between the Opposition and the government are expected to spice up the proceedings even as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will present the State's budget for the 2023-24 fiscal.
The recent forest fires, the Mhadei water diversion dispute with Karnataka, besides some embarrassing happenings like the Anjuna tourist assault and the alleged extortion racket are some issues that the Opposition will latch on to keep the Sawant government
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao claimed that the Opposition MLAs are raring to go and grill the government during the session on issues important to Goa during the proceedings.
Facts and figures related to wasteful expenditure on events and publicity to self-glorify the government will be exposed in the session, he said.
Alemao said the government will be exposed in the session and it will be proved that it is running away from scrutiny and accountability by holding short-duration sessions.
He said, replies to Legislative Assembly Questions (LAQ) will expose the government on issues like employment generation, failure to fill government vacancies, poor disaster management among others.
The government on the other hand has planned to enact some crucial legislations, including a law to restrict sale or transfer of agricultural land to non-farmer residents from outside the State and another which will facilitate acquisition of Comunidade land for public projects.
While Sawant is expected to present the 2023-24 Budget either on Tuesday or Wednesday, the 'general discussion' on it has been deferred to the monsoon session even as the government will opt for a four-month vote on account to defray expenditure for the first four months of the new financial year from April 1.
The last day (Friday) of the session after a one-day break for Ram Navami on Thursday, has been earmarked for private member's business, which was skipped in the winter session and which turned out to be a flash point for a bitter confrontation between the government and the Opposition.
Its brute majority in the House is expected to come in handy for the government as has often been the case in past proceedings. The Sawant-led government enjoys the support of 32 members (27 of the BJP, two of the MGP and the three Independents) while the Opposition has seven -- Congress which has three, two of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and one each of the Goa Forward Party and Revolutionary Goans Party.
