Bhubaneswar, Sept. 29: The monsoon session of the Assembly, the proceedings of which were dominated by the twin issues of Mahanadi river dispute and Polavaram dam project in Andhra Pradesh, concluded today.

The proceedings of the eight-day-long session were stalled most of the days over the issues. However, a dozen legislative bills were passed hurriedly amidst Opposition protests.

Today, four bills were passed within three hours before Speaker Niranjan Pujari declared the session adjourned sine die tonight.

These bills were the Odisha Clinical Establishments (Control and Regulations) Amendment Bill, Odisha Excise (Amendment) Bill, Odisha Conduct of Examination (Amendment) Bill and the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (Amendment) Bill.

The Clinical Establishments Bill intended to make penal provisions more stringent by incorporating monetary penalty and criminal liability. Similarly, the Excise Amendment Bill empowered the state government in stead of excise commissioner to fix licence and other fees. The Conduct of Examinations Bill inserted a new section to impose imprisonment of three years and maximum up to seven years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh on the centre superintendent or head of the institution for abetment mass malpractice. The Biju Patnaik University of Technology Amendment Bill inserted a provision of pro-chancellor for better functioning of the varsity and reduced the term of the vice-chancellor from five to three years.

The BJD stalled the proceedings for four days protesting against the construction of barrages by the Chhattisgarh government in the Mahanadi upstream, expressing apprehension that Odisha would be badly affected as the flow of river would be reduced considerably in the downstream.

Similarly, it also stalled the proceedings yesterday over the Polavaram issue. Opposition leader Narasingha Mishra said: "The ruling party was trying to run away from the legislature as its failures would have been exposed had there been discussion in the House." BJP legislature party leader K.V. Singh Deo alleged that the BJD did not like to discuss the issue, as it had planned a hartal in seven districts on October 1.

On this, BJD spokesman Samir Ranjan Dash said the issue could not be discussed due to paucity of time.