Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur to present budget on March 6: Speaker

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will present Budget for the financial year 2021-22 in the state Assembly on March 6, with COVID-19 protocol in place, Speaker Vipin Parmar said on Thursday.

The budget session will commence on February 26 with Governor Bandaru Dattatraya's address, the Speaker told the media. The session would conclude on March 20, he added.

Thakur, who also holds additional charge of the finance department, will present the budget on March 6, Parmar said.

The budget session will have a total of 17 sittings, he added.

No visitor will be allowed to come to the Assembly to watch the proceedings during the budget session due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the Speaker said.

The strength of Assembly officials and employees to conduct the proceedings during the budget session has also been reduced from 1,200 to 800 to check the spread of the infection, Parmar said.

The Speaker said the session would be held while following COVID-19 protocol. No one will be allowed to entre the Assembly complex without thermal scanning, he said, adding it would be sanitised twice a day during the session.