Mumbai, March 10 Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar warned senior bureaucrats on Tuesday against skipping important discussions in the House, especially debates on the state budget, asking them to treat it as a "last chance" for the bureaucracy.
Addressing the Lower House before the budget discussion, Narwekar said that the presence of senior officers in the gallery is essential for providing immediate administrative inputs to ministers during debates.
"The discussion on the state budget is a serious matter, and it is the responsibility of the government as well as the administration to treat it with due importance," he said.
The Speaker noted that he had earlier written to the state bureaucracy asking senior officers to remain present during key debates in the state assembly.
He said the warning should be treated as a "last chance" for the bureaucracy.
"If officers at the additional chief secretary level are not present in the gallery during such important discussions in the future, the House will be compelled to take appropriate action," he said.
Narwekar further said that the smooth functioning of the House depends on cooperation from both elected representatives and the administration, while urging members to ensure that debates are conducted within the scheduled time so that the assembly's business can be managed efficiently.