New Delhi: Lok Sabha on April 25 completed the second stage of the Budget passage with the approval of demands for grants for various Ministries after applying guillotine.

The House also passed the relevant appropriation Bills enabling the government to withdraw Rs 6.48 lakh crore from the consolidated fund of India for expenditure of various Ministries during 2003-04.

The House passed the demands for grants for only two Ministries of External Affairs and Labour after discussion and the demands for grants for all other Ministries including Home Affairs, Defence, Agriculture and Rural Development were passed by applying guillotine.

The appropriation Bills were passed after a brief reply by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, who assured Opposition members that government will take all steps to tackle problems faced by sugar industry, especially the payment of arrears to sugarcane growers.

An inter-ministerial group set up to look into the problems will submit its report within a fortnight, he said when Congress chief whip Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi regretted the failure of the government to fulfil its promise to tackle the sugar industry problem within a fortnight.

He also criticised the government for not speedily completing the inquiry into the Tehelka expose and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) scam involving high officials.

Singh said government would come back to the House after the judicial inquiry into Tehelka expose was completed.

Refuting the Opposition charge of not implementing promises made in the Budget for ex-servicemen, Singh said already 114 of the proposed 227 medical polyclinic for servicemen have been set up.

PTI