THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government is once again breaking with the tradition of tabling the Economic Review on the eve of budget presentation. Since the state budget will be presented on Friday and the assembly has taken a short break after the governor’s policy address and motion of thanks, the Economic Review will be table with the budget.
Barring a few years, the Economic Review has been tabled a day before the budget. Sources in the legislative secretariat said this is done to keep legislators informed about the state’s economic conditions so that they get a better understanding of the budget.
“However, there is no rule for tabling the Economic Review and hence there is nothing wrong in tabling it on the day of the budget. It is just a precedent set following a recommendation by an estimate committee of the assembly.
The budget presentation has taken place on the first day of the session only on rare occasions. The last time it happened was during the fourth or fifth budget of the tenth assembly,” said an officer. Meanwhile, printed budget documents will be handed to legislators and media personnel this year too.