Even as the new 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) is scheduled to begin from June 25, Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro has convened an all-party meeting to seek cooperation from members of all political parties for smooth conduct of the House.
“I have convened a meeting of all MLAs, of ruling and Opposition parties, to seek their cooperation in smooth functioning of the House. The meeting will be held before June 25, the day scheduled for beginning of the first Session,” said Patro.
Commenting on Patro’s move, senior BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra said, “Convening an all-party meeting for smooth conduct of a House is a practice in the Parliament too. It is a welcome move.”
Senior Congress MLA Narasingha Mishra, who was the Leader of Opposition in the 15th State Assembly, said, “An all-party meeting is a welcome step. Our party has always provided cooperation in constructive issues taken up in the Assembly.” Meanwhile, Patro has decided to implement National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) in the State Assembly on a fast-track basis.
He has advised the Department of Parliamentary Affairs to submit before him a draft of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) on its implementation by June 22.
The decision to implement the NeVA was taken in a meeting of the House Committee on Computerisation chaired by the Speaker on June 11. The NIC, before preparation of the draft DPR,, would collect a sample copy of from the Parliamentary Affairs Department and utilise all the remaining ICT implements and resources.
The State-level NeVA Implementation Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary would approve and implement the DPR on the basis of the recommendation of the Parliamentary Affairs Department.