The Calcutta High Court, in an interim order, on Friday ordered the West Bengal government to use financial aid given to Durga Puja clubs to improve policing and public engagement, and increase the number of women in community policing. . The court also ordered the government that the funds be used to purchase masks, disinfectants and face shields and not to hold musical evenings, puja activities or entertainment for the organizers.
Judge Sanjib Banerjee ordered that 25 percent of the money be used to strengthen the police by including more women in community policing, while the remaining 75 percent should be used for the purchase of masks, disinfectants and face shields.
“There should be an audit of the invoices generated after the purchase of such items and these invoices should be sent to SDO in the districts and the Kolkata Police in Kolkata for a thorough audit. The audit report must be submitted to the court after the Puja vacation, ”the Court observed.
The court reserved its final verdict, which it said will ensure that such a problem does not occur every year, until the Puja holidays.
On October 15, 2020, the Calcutta High Court requested an explanation from the West Bengal government to justify the Rs 50,000 donations awarded to Durga Puja committees in the state. The division bench made up of judges Sanjib Banerjee and Arijit Banerjee also asked whether the state government has provided similar financial aid during other festivals such as Eid or not.
The High Court, while noting that the donations are public money that is distributed as a grant to the Durga Puja Committees, questioned whether guidelines for such spending have been developed and whether a plan for crowd management during Durga Puja has been developed.
In response to the court, the state government had said that the grant was intended to raise public awareness about controlling Covid-19 and purchasing masks and disinfectants. In response to this, the Court questioned: “In that case, why doesn’t the state government give them masks and disinfectants directly instead of giving them the donations?”
The leadership came after a public interest litigation filed a few days ago by the leader of the Center for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Sourav Dutta.
In the PIL, the social activist asked the Court to intervene as the ‘public fund’ cannot be distributed to a religious community because its basic function is to carry out religious activities, and such spending is outside the scope of the Indian Constitution.
The PIL was introduced after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on September 14 and again on September 24 announced a monthly allowance of 1,000 rupees and free housing for nearly 8,000 Brahmin priests from Sanatan and a donation of 50,000 rupees in the state Puja.
The petitioner said that the decision of the West Bengal government to distribute monthly allowances and free housing to priests and the Puja donation goes against the concept of secularism.
.
