The Sikkim Assembly on Tuesdaypassed the Rs 9,100-crore budget for the fiscal 2020-21.The 32-member state legislature passed the budget by voice vote on the second and final day of the budget session.The appropriation bill, authorising the state government to withdraw budgetary funds from the consolidated fund of Sikkim, as well as the second supplementary demands for grant of Rs 216 crore to meet additional expenditure in 2019-20, were also passed by the House.The assembly also passed a number of other bills, including the Sikkim Panchayat (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Sikkim Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Sikkim Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2020.Officials said that for the first time in the history of Sikkim Assembly, media personnel were barred from covering live proceedings of the House in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
