Assembly budget session to be held from Aug 13 to Sept 21

State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan will present the amended budget for 2021-22 in the House on August 13. The following day, the maiden agriculture budget would be presented, which would debate the revised estimates for four days from Monday, August 14. The Finance and Agriculture ministers would reply to the debate on August 19.

Debate on the demand for grants for various departments would commence for over three weeks beginning with the Water Resources Department on August 23. Chief Minister MK Stalin will reply to the discussion on demand for grants for the Home Department on the penultimate day of the session on September 20. The DMK regime has contented itself with presenting an amended budget for the remainder of 2021-22 financial year as at least two quarters would nearly be over in the current fiscal by the time the budget gets passed in the House.

The session is expected to have stormy moments given that it happens in the backdrop of the white paper on the State’s finances released by Thiaga Rajan and ongoing raids at former AIADMK minister SP Velumani’s residence.

The treasury benches could use the white paper and raids to pin down the opposition AIADMK for financial mismanagement if the latter attempts to question its delay in implementing schemes promised in its poll manifesto, sources said.