Kolkata: Hearing by Calcutta High Court of PILs challenging West Bengal government's decision to grant Rs 60,000 to each club holding community Durga Puja concluded on Thursday. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj reserved the order. The petitioners' counsel Bikash Bhattacharya prayed that the decision to give the grant be set aside by the court.
He submitted before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Justice R Bharadwaj that a communication by the state on September 6 for the grant is not a government order as it requires the consent of the state governor. Since the communication is signed by a deputy secretary of the Home and Hill Affairs department of the state government, it is only an intra-departmental communication, he claimed.
Opposing the prayer, state Advocate General S N Mookherjee submitted before the court that the grant is given to the organisers for development of tourism and showcasing the state's cultural heritage among other objectives. He submitted that checks and balances are in place for giving the grant and utilisation certificates are given by the beneficiaries.
The communication by the deputy secretary to the state director general of police and Kolkata police commissioner said about the sanction of total Rs 240.16 crore to 40,028 clubs/puja organisers, of which 37,028 are under West Bengal police and the rest 3,000 in Kolkata police commissionerate area "subject to directions of the court."
It states that the amount of Rs 60,000 to each club will be used for showcasing the cultural heritage of Durga Puja, to promote tourism in West Bengal and for community policing activities. The AG submitted before the division bench that Puja grant to clubs by the state was challenged in earlier years too, but the court had not interfered with the government's decision. Bhattacharya had claimed that even big budget puja organisers who spent huge amounts every year are also getting the benefit of the grant, which is public money. (PTI)
