For the first time in recent years of Legislative business, the J&K coalition government will present annual budget for the current fiscal year in the Assembly session being convened in Srinagar. The budget session is likely to commence from July 15, though no formal notification has been issued so far.

The notification would be preceded by summoning of the session by the Governor NN Vohra, a constitutional requirement, at least 20-25 days ahead of the commencement of session. Assembly sources said the secretariat which has already started preparations is waiting for government nod on the tentative date, which is July 15 after which a proper calendar will be drawn up.

The session, sources said, is going to be over one month long affair as apart from presentation of annual budget, huge government business and bills will be presented in the House.

One more new aspect of the budget session this time is that it will be held in the newly constructed Assembly complex of the state in summer capital that was inaugurated last year in July by the then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. On account of the political developments caused by agitation over Amarnath land dispute, the then government had to announce dissolution of the Assembly one day after the complex was inaugurated.

But the then government convened one day session in this complex on July 10 for a brief time to announce formal dissolution of the House, the only business conducted in the new complex.

However, full budget session will be held in July this year in place of the autumn session that would be held in Srinagar for a week or 15 days to fulfil the constitutional requirement of convening the session within six months of earlier convened session.

... contd.