Five-day state interim budget session to commence today

Mumbai: A five-day budget session of the state legislature will begin on Monday. Finance minister Ajit Pawar, who is also deputy CM, will present an interim budget for the year 2024-25 on Tuesday. Pawar is expected to table an interim budget for four months — April to July — wh-ich is likely to be a balancing act between financial discipline, pre-poll SOPs and outreach to various communities, including minorities. Govt may table the additional budget in its next session in July. With Lok Sabha elections slated for April-May and state assembly polls for Oct, populist pre-poll sops are expected, but Mahayuti govt may present a conservative budget. With the 10% quota for Maratha community cleared in the special session of legislature last week, govt is expected to capitalise on the decision. The opposition is likely to corner govt on the law-and-order situation, alleged corruption in govt agencies, seizure of drugs from across the state, Maratha reservation act and allegations levelled by activist Manoj Jarange against deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. On Monday, supplementary demands will be tabled and condolence resolutions will be passed for current and former members of the house who passed away this year, including former CM Manohar Joshi and BJP MLA Rajendra Patni. Eight bills are pending before the legislature’s joint panel including Maharashtra Mathadi, Hamal and Other Manual Workers (Regulation of Employment and Welfare) Bill and Maharashtra (Adulterated, Uncertified or Misbranded Seeds, Fertilizers or Pesticides (for sale and trade losses) to Farmers Compensation Bill, 2023. Last year, the Shinde-Fadnavis govt had presented its first budget of Rs 5,47,450 crore based on the principle of ‘panchamrut’.