Advocate General SN Mukherjee argued that the state government is yet to issue a notification in this regard. (File Photo)The Calcutta High Court on Monday directed the state government to file an affidavit before it by September 5 regarding its decision to offer grants of Rs 60,000 each to over 40,000 Durga Puja committees in the state.
The direction from the court came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) against the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government’s decision to offer grants to the Puja committees. The petitioners have questioned the rationale behind providing such large grants to the Puja committees, especially when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee herself admitted that the state is going through a financial crunch.
Advocate General SN Mukherjee argued that the state government is yet to issue a notification in this regard. Lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, however, said that the CM has announced the grants during a meeting of Puja committees and the process to distribute the money has already begun.
After hearing both the sides, the division bench of Chief Justice Prakash Srivastava and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj observed that the state government has to clarify why such grants are being offered to Puja committees. The court has fixed the next hearing on September 5.