Post-counting scenario remaining dicey with the possibility of the mandate throwing a hung House, senior State Government officials tasked to prepare the budget for the year 2017-18, are a worried lot. A vote-on-account or a full-fledged budget must be passed in the new Assembly by the end of March to keep the cash flow normal.
However, with the situation in all likelihood remaining fluid, the officers are wondering what they would do in case a Government is not formed on time to clear the decks for the passing of either the budget or a vote-on- account.
One of them says that a murky situation might crop up in case no Government is formed by the time the vote-on-account or the full budget is to be passed. "In that case, the Governor might refer the matter to the Centre, asking for its intervention to keep the cash flow normal to meet expenses, reminiscent of what happened when the State was in the thick of a constitutional crisis post-March 18 rebellion by nine of the Congress MlAs," he said.
If the Government is formed smoothly, sans hiccups, the new Chief Minister is likely to assume charge by March 16. After the swearing-in of the Cabinet is over, the Governor would address the House on the first day of the first session that is the budget session. The new members would elect a pro-tem Speaker to administer the oath to all the elected members of the Vidhan Sabha. Besides, things would take time for a new Cabinet to settle down and allocation of portfolios. Observers say that it might take seven to ten days, depending on the evolving situation.
This means that the new Government would go for a session that must continue for at least three days. On the first day, the Governor would address the House to be followed by the presentation of the budget on the second day and the passing of the same on the third.
The Government officials have already put into place two sets of budgets. If the Government repeats they would present the first set and the full-fledged budget session would ensue. But in case the BJP forms the Government the vote-on-account would be passed to enable the Government to meet the expenses for the first three or four months. If this happens it would be the second consecutive vote-on-account on the formation of the new Assembly.
Thereafter, the new Government would have to present the full budget at a session to be convened at the newly-constructed Assembly building at Gairsain in Chamoli district. This is because of the resolution passed during the last session of the third Assembly on November 18, 2016, clearly denoting that the budget session must be held at Gairsain.
"One thing is clear that we need to have a budget passed by March 31, 2017, no matter whether it is a full-fledged budget or a vote-on-account. In case things do not happen this way we would not be able to draw even a penny to meet the day-to-day expenditure, a prospect that should be averted at any cost," said a senior bureaucrat.