Puducherry CM holds an 11-hour long Cabinet meet ahead of budget

In an unprecedented step, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy held a record Cabinet meeting lasting over 11 hours with ministerial colleagues and top government officials to give finishing touches to the 2016-17 budget, which he will present in the Assembly on Monday. The meeting began at 6.00 pm on Saturday and was over at around 4.30 am on Sunday morning, official sources said. Detailed deliberations on various schemes implemented so far and measures to brush these up for extending benefits of welfare schemes on a larger scale were held, they said.

Meanwhile, Lt Governor Kiran Bedi who returned to Puducherry on Sunday early morning from Varanasi, dropped her scheduled visit to Bahoor at 6.00 AM to inspect the lake as part of her weekly visits under 'Clean Puducherry' drive after being informed that the meeting got over only this morning and that officials were exhausted. An official source told PTI that Bedi consequently dropped her programme and kept indoors as most of the officials needed to accompany her would be absent.

This is the first time Bedi is dropping her field trip since she embarked on weekly visits to various points on Saturdays and Sundays after assuming the office of Lt Governor on May 29 to launch cleanliness drive.