BHUBANESWAR: The winter session of the Odisha Legislative Assembly will be held before December 31.Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Wednesday said that a calendar for 40 days will be prepared once the schedule of the session is decided by Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal.
As per rules of procedure, the Assembly shall have not less than three sessions with a minimum of 60 sitting days in a calendar year. “The House had a total sitting of 20 days during the third and fourth sessions.
The remaining 40 working days should be completed before December,” Patro said, adding that Governor’s approval is awaited to plan the winter session. Though it was mandated that the sitting days of Odisha Assembly would be at least 60 days in a calendar year as per the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Odisha Legislative Assembly, the BJD government passed a motion in 2014 to allow lesser number of days.
Ever since the Naveen Patnaik-led government came to power in 2000, the State legislature has fulfilled the 60 days sitting norm on only three calendar years - 2006, 2010 and 2012. The monsoon session of the Assembly was adjourned sine die on October 6, a day ahead of schedule. The session was held with strict adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines.
The legislators and the Assembly staff had undergone Covid-19 test before the commencement of monsoon session. Several MLAs participated in the proceedings of the House through virtual mode after they were found to be Covid positive.