Odisha Assembly session ends ahead of schedule

Bhubaneswar: The Winter Session of Odisha Assembly was on Tuesday adjourned sine die, 18 days ahead of its scheduled end on December 31. Speaker Surama Padhy announced that the House was adjourned sine die after government chief whip Saroj Kumar Pradhan moved a motion in this regard, stating that no major official business was left.

Earlier, the session was scheduled to function for 29 sittings, but it ended after 11 working days. The Winter Session was significant as President Droupadi Murmu addressed the members on the opening day on November 27. She was the first President to address the Odisha Assembly.

During the 11 working days, the House approved the Supplementary Budget of Rs 17,440 crore. Apart from the Odisha Appropriation Bill, the House also passed six other Bills, including those related to the enhancement of the pension of ex-members and salaries of Speaker, Deputy Speaker, ministers and MLAs.

On November 28, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who holds the Finance portfolio, presented a Supplementary Budget proposal of Rs 17,440 crore for the 2025-26 financial year to ensure effective implementation of priority welfare and development schemes.

The Assembly on Monday passed an appropriation bill, allowing the State government to spend Rs 17,440 crore from its consolidated funds during the 2025-26 financial year. The Odisha Appropriation Bill (No. 2), 2025, was passed by voice vote, amid a walkout by Opposition BJD and the Congress, who alleged that the State budget was visionless.

Speaking in favour of the Bill in the House, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, who also holds the finance portfolio, said, “I had presented the full budget of Rs 2.90 lakh crore for the current fiscal, which was earlier passed in the Assembly. In the last eight months, our government has been implementing various programmes as per the budget provisions.”

This is a balanced budget, which is aimed at the welfare of every section of the society, Majhi asserted. He said various welfare programmes are being implemented for farmers, women, the youth and the poor. “This Bill has been introduced for the additional expenditure required for successful implementation of these projects,” the Chief Minister said.

“Out of Rs 17,440 crore, Rs 13,716 crore will be spent on programme expenditure. From this, one can get an idea of the vision and intentions of the government,” he said. Majhi also said his government has consciously tried to allocate as much of the budget as possible for capital expenditure.

“Till November, the total revenue collection of the State has grown by 8.33 per cent compared to last year. This is 54 per cent of the budget estimate,” he said. “We also aim to maintain the capital outlay at a level above 6 per cent of the state GDP. This will help in economic growth and assist us in carrying out various developmental and welfare programmes,” Majhi added.