Saturday, 30 November 2013 08:30
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The second reading of the Appropriation Bill 2014 was passed in Parliament yesterday with a majority of 99 votes, ending the second reading debate, which took place for the last seven days from 22nd November.
In the division that was taken, 154 votes were cast in favour while 55 members of the United National Party, Tamil National Alliance, and the coalition Democratic National Alliance and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna voted against the Appropriation Bill 2014.
The Budget for 2014 now moves into the Committee Stage Debate, which will take place for a period of 16 days from 2 December to 20 December, ending the Budget 2014.
A vote on the third reading is scheduled to take place on 20 December 2013. In this Appropriation Bill, the Government has sought approval to allocate Rs. 1.54 trillion to support state expenses for 2014, which is an increase of 15.5% in both recurrent and capital expenditure, compared with Rs. 1.15 trillion allocated for 2013. Among the top recipients in the Appropriation Bill 2014 the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development has the highest provisioning amounting to Rs. 253 billion. (AH)
