Ordinance for contingency proposed
Sandesh Prabhudesai
15 March 2002
In spite of stiff opposition from the legal
luminaries and opposition parties, the BJP government in
Goa went ahead with a recommendation to the state governor
to increase the contingency fund by over hundred folds,
to meet its regular expenditure.
The situation has arisen in the tourist
state in the wake of sudden dissolution of the state Assembly
on 27 February, on the eve of the budget session scheduled
on 13 March.
"It is an unanimous and legally well-advised
decision of the cabinet", chief minister Manohar Parrikar
told the press persons at the cabinet briefing today evening.
The cabinet resolution has recommended
to advise to Governor Mohammed Fazal to promulgate ordinance
by amending section 2 of the Goa Contingency Act 1998, increasing
financial limit from Rs 10 crore to Rs 1090 crore, till
31 July 2002.
Pending presentation of the annual budget,
the state is going for fresh Assembly polls within 32 months,
only after which the budget will be presented in the new
Assembly. The elections are thus expected to be held before
monsoons arrive here in the first week of June.
Besides the opposition parties like the
Congress, NCP and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, several
legal experts have also been consistently opposing Parrikar's
move to draw funds from the contingency fund, describing
it unconstitutional.
The only option they have proposed is to
impose President's rule under Article 356 and get the budget
passed through the Parliament. This could not be done as
the Assembly was dissolved under Art 174 (2) b, which does
not provide for passing the budget through the Parliament.
Against their argument that contingency
is meant only for 'unforeseen expenditure' and not for the
routine foreseen expenditure like salaries etc, Parrikar
argues that it is also meant for such kind of 'unforeseen
circumstances'.
The ball has now been thrown into the court
of the state governor, who has already come under heavy
criticism for dissolving the House without considering these
factors. There are two petitions also filed by the Congress
leaders in this regard, which may come up for hearing on
Monday.
Meanwhile, the cabinet has also proposed
to the governor to issue necessary ordinances, in order
to extend all the financial acts and bills, expiring on
31 March, till 31 July.
