MLAs seek House rules session, canteen as Budget session ends

Cutting across party lines, lawmakers raised several issues, such as the absence of a canteen in the MLAs’ residential complex and demanding an extra session on the rules of the House, in the Assembly on the last day of the Budget session.

Leader of the opposition Mata Prasad Pandey said the live streaming of the Assembly proceedings on electronic channels and social media had connected lawmakers with their constituencies. “The association of the MLAs with their voters has increased. People can see that issues associated with their constituency were raised by their MLA on the floor of the Assembly,” he said.

MLAs should ensure that proceedings of the question hour were not disrupted, he said.

Apna Dal (S) MLA and minister Ashish Patel said the House should hold a special meeting for discussions on the life and contribution of the great men of the country. “The speaker should arrange a visit of the MLAs to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” he said.

BJP MLA Puran Prakash said the newly constructed residential complex for the MLAs near Darul Shafa did not have a canteen. “The MLAs residing in the complex face food problems,” he noted.

RLD MLA Pradeep Kumar Singh said an extra class should be organised for the MLAs to acquaint them with the rules and proceedings of the Assembly.

SP MLA from Sambhal Iqbal Mahmood said the holy month of Ramzan had started but there were no greetings from the treasury bench.

Immediately after the SP MLA’s remark, parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna, ministers and some of the lawmakers greeted Muslim lawmakers on Ramzan and the upcoming Eid.

MLAs’ salaries to be linked with inflation index

Minister Suresh Khanna informed the House that chief minister Yogi Adityanath had agreed to the MLAs demand to link their salaries with the inflation index. A committee comprising the ruling and opposition parties MLAs will be constituted. The working of the committee will be time-bound and it will submit its report to the CM. Leader of the Congress legislature party Aradhana Mishra Mona had raised the issue in the assembly on Tuesday.

House adjourned sine die

Speaker Satish Mahana adjourned the house sine die to bring curtains down on the budget session in the Assembly on Wednesday. Minister Suresh Khanna said when the budget session commenced on February 18 there was doubt among the opposition lawmakers if the proceedings of the House would continue till the date announced by the state government. The session continued for 10 days during which 250 MLAs expressed their views. The opposition party MLAs played an important role in the smooth running of the budget session, Khanna said.

‘Govt paying four times more for land acquisition’

Industrial development minister Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi said the state government was paying four times higher than the DM’s circle rate to farmers whose land was acquired for the construction of expressways and industrial corridors in various districts. Replying to an adjournment motion moved by the Samajwadi Party, Nandi said the anomalies in the land records in various districts were corrected during the acquisition of the agriculture land. There was no pressure on the farmers but the land was acquired only after the consent of the farmers, he said. Nandi said the state government has already acquired 66% of the land required for industrial investment, he said. SP MLAs Rakesh Kumar Verma and Prabhu Narayan Yadav alleged that state government was putting pressure on the farmers for acquisition of their land for the construction of Ganga Expressway in Prayagraj.

Baghpat dais collapse: ‘Compensation after panel submits report’

Parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna said the state government will announce compensation for the people who died in Baghpat district after a dais collapsed on January 28 when a religious event was organized by the Jain community. Replying to an adjournment motion moved by the Samajwadi Party, Khanna said seven people died and 35 others were injured in the incident. The state government has constituted a committee consisting of officers from the district administration, police, PWD, energy and fire control. The compensation will be announced after the committee submits its report, he said. SP MLA from Sardhana Atul Pradhan said the state government had not announced compensation for the devotees belonging to Jain community whereas ₹25 lakh compensation was announced for the devotees who died in the Mahakumbh stampede.