Puducherry holds legislative assembly under neem tree

PUDUCHERRY: For the first time in the history of the Union territory of Puducherry, a legislative assembly was convened in an open space under a neem tree. The assembly was held outside the main building as the assembly chamber was closed after being disinfected, after an MLA had tested positive for Covid.
The Congress government must pass the budget in the assembly to meet the expenses from July 1 as the vote on account for Rs2,042 crore, which was passed in March to meet the expenses for three months, lapsed on June 30. The budget session, which commenced on July 20, was scheduled to resume at 10am on Saturday but was delayed after the chamber was disinfected and closed.
The assembly secretariat initially decided to hold the budget session in the fourth floor of an adjoining new building but soon dropped the idea due to space constraints. Later, the secretariat decided to hold the session under the neem tree on the assembly premises. A shamiana was erected under the tree and temporary seating arrangements were made on the lines of the one in the assembly chamber.
The session commenced at 1.30pm and the finance bill was passed following which speaker of the legislative assembly adjourned the House sine die.
All India NR Congress (AINRC) MLA N S J Jayabal from Kadirgamam constituency had earlier tested positive for Covid-19. The first MLA in the Union territory to contract the infection, Jayabal, was admitted to a private medical college hospital.
Jayabal had attended the ongoing budget session in the legislative assembly, which commenced on July 20. He attended the proceedings on July 20, 22 and 23. Chief minister V Narayanasamy, all five ministers and MLAs from the ruling and opposition parties participated in the assembly proceedings. All of them, assembly staff members and a section of mediapersons will undergo medical examinations for Covid-19 infection in batches from Monday.