AP to take ordinance route to meet expenses

The Andhra Pradesh government led by Chandrababu Naidu is likely to issue an ordinance by the end of March to meet the governmental expenditure for the initial months of the next financial year.

According to government sources, the ordinance will detail the fund requirements for the entire financial year though it would seek to meet the expenditure only for the initial period of the fiscal.

This extraordinary measure to be taken for the first time in Andhra Pradesh, was required as neither a full budget nor a vote-on-account is possible to take care of the expenditure starting from the next financial year due to dissolution of the state assembly.

The Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government had dissolved the Assembly on 14th November to pave the way for early elections. The assembly in the normal course would have been dissolved in September 2004.

Dismissing opposition criticism, state finance minister Y Ramakrishnudu said, "It will be improper to issue an ordinance of this nature only if the assembly is in session, but in this case the assembly has been dissolved. We have every right to issue the ordinance (all ordinances are issued in the name and by the order of the Governor) for expenditure like any other purpose."

Expectations are high that the government may issue an ordinance that will cover fund requirements for the first four months of the next financial year, but senior government sources have pointed out that the time period had not yet been decided upon.

"Only a two to three page ordinance will be offered. Normally, the annual budget sessions commence in the state from February 15 and lasts up to March 31. And, the budget is introduced in the first 15 days, after which the appropriation bill is introduced at the fag end of March. So the same logic is expected to be extended to the timing of the issuance of the ordinance," government sources pointed out.

The Congress-led opposition demanded President's rule in the state to secure the vote-on-account or an ordinance for the sanction of expenditure.

The Congress and other opposition parties had in late January made strong appeals to the governor of Andhra Pradesh and the President to remove the caretaker government by central rule to avoid a 'constitutional crisis' arising out of the dissolution of assembly.

Criticising the opposition's argument as politically motivated, the state government has asserted that under Article 213 of the Indian Constitution it is fully competent to issue an ordinance on the expenditure for the next financial year. The above article empowers the governments to issue ordinances before getting it approved by an elected house at a later date.

"It's like any other ordinance that governments issue from time to time," was the cryptic reply from a senior government official, though this kind of an ordinance is being issued for the first time in the history of Andhra Pradesh.

Union law minister Arun Jaitley and later the Government of India itself came in for the support of state government's position while the state Advocate General gave his opinion in favour of the caretaker government issuing the ordinance for next year's expenditure.

The new government is expected to be installed by mid-May and the officials are hopeful that the schedule for the elections would be issued by the Election Commission after 20th of this month.