By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 5 Feb: Finance Minister Prem Chand Agarwal today confirmed that the budget session of Uttarakhand Assembly will be held in Dehradun from 18 to 24 February during which the annual budget for the Financial Year 2025-26 will be presented and approved.
Sources also claimed that that a bill incorporating “stricter’ land laws may also be presented and approved during the budget session, though no official was willing to confirm this. It may be recalled that the government and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami have been claiming publicly that a stricter land law bill will be tabled in the House during the budget session.
Speaking informally with the media persons here today, Aggarwal shared that the government has received significant suggestions from various sections of the state, including traders, farmers, small industries, and the education sector. These suggestions have been incorporated in the budget to ensure it aligns with public interest and aims to position Uttarakhand among the leading states in the country.
Aggarwal also mentioned that over 200 stakeholders from across the state have provided their inputs, and this budget will focus on the development of the most marginalised sections of society.
Earlier, the government had announced its intention to hold the Budget Session of the Assembly in Gairsain but since the government and the Speaker, Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, are pushing for a paperless and digital budget session, a decision has been taken to hold the budget session in Dehradun, which is now technically equipped to host a digital and paperless budget session under the e-NEVA project of the Centre. Bhushan had urged the government to host the budget session this year in Dehradun. She has also shared that preparations are also underway to equip the Gairsain located Vidhan Sabha building with digital facilities under the e-NEVA project.
