Elaborate arrangements in place for Telangana's budget session

Hyderabad: The budget session of the Telangana Legislative Assembly and Council is set to commence on February 8.

The proceedings will begin at 11:30 am on Thursday with the joint address by Governor Dr. Tamilsai Soundararajan to the members of the Assembly and Council. Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will present the budget on February 10.

The duration of the budget session will be decided in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting scheduled after the Governor's address on Thursday.

The inaugural budget session under the Congress Government is anticipated to be tumultuous, with the main opposition preparing to attack the delay in fulfilling the six guarantees promised by the Congress during the elections. The issue of handing over control of Telangana's projects to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) is expected to dominate the session.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is likely to announce the implementation of two additional guarantees: a gas cylinder for Rs 500 and free power for up to 200 units during the budget session.

BRS President and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao is also expected to participate in the budget session as the Leader of the Opposition. He could not attend the previous Assembly session due to undergoing treatment for hip replacement surgery.

Meanwhile, elaborate arrangements have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the budget session.

During a review meeting, Legislative Council Chairman Gutta Sukhender Reddy, Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, and Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu discussed the arrangements, including security.

Council Chairman Sukhender Reddy emphasized, "Questions posed by members of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly should be promptly answered. A special nodal officer should be appointed, and steps should be taken to ensure the smooth running of the meetings. Officers must ensure that it is in the officer's box," he added.

He mentioned that, following Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's suggestion, it was decided to shift the Legislative Council to the old Assembly building. "We aim to complete the financial affairs in this regard as soon as possible," he stated.

Police officials have been instructed to take stringent measures regarding security for the Assembly and Council, including protection for MLAs and MLCs. Vigilance will be maintained on dharnas and rallies are likely to be held during the assembly session. Adequate measures will be taken to prevent crowds of visitors from entering the lobbies.

The Chairman emphasized the need to ensure that there are no issues concerning the protocol for MLAs and MLCs.

Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council Banda Prakash, Whips Adluri Laxman and Birla Ilaiah, Chief Secretary Shanti Kumari, DGP Ravi Gupta, Legislature Secretary Dr. Narasimha Charyulu, and other higher officials also participated in the meeting.