Bhubaneswar, June 29 : The monsoon session of the Odisha Assembly to be commenced on July 2 next will have one hour more working hours than what it was during the Covid period.
Odisha Assembly Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukh announced it to the newspersons after an all-party meeting on Wednesday.
The session will be held following all covid protocols, the Speaker said.
Arukh said the decision to extend the working hours was taken at the all-party meeting to enable more members to participate in the proceedings of the house.
He said in the afternoon session starting from 4 PM, the business of the house will continue till 7 PM instead of 6 PM.
The all-party meeting was convened to chalk out a strategy for the smooth functioning of the assembly during the monsoon session.
The monsoon session which will start on July 2 will continue till August 4. The session will have 24 working days. Two days have been earmarked for the private member’s business.
Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari will present the full budget for 2022-23 on the inaugural day of the session on July 2.
At the meeting, sources said, the opposition Congress and the BJP members demanded to allow the journalist to the press gallery to cover the proceedings of the house and the physical presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the house during the important debate.