The Orissa High Court Thursday issued notices to the state government asking it to file counters in the form of an affidavit within four weeks in response to a PIL that has challenged its Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income augmentation (KALIA) scheme.

The division bench headed by Chief Justice K S Jhaveri issued the direction to Chief Secretary A P Padhi.

The scheme, notified on December 22 last year, is likely to be implemented in the state from January 25.

It is billed to provide financial, livelihood, cultivation and insurance support to small, marginal and landless farmers.

Social activist Subhash Mohapatra of Bhubaneswar in his petition to the HC has alleged that the proposed scheme is slated to be implemented by drawing huge public money from the contingency fund of the state government, which is ultra vires to the Constitution.

"The Kalia scheme violates Doctrines of Separation of Powers and the basic structure of the Constitution," the PIL stated adding that any step on formulation and implementation of the scheme and its consequential action are also "patently arbitrary, capricious and discriminatory".

Stating that the scheme is unconstitutional, the petitioner urged the HC to quash it.

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