Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday orally remarked that the state government should not release grants to clubs which have failed to submit certificates on the utilisation of funds received for organising Durga Puja in previous years.
A division bench of Justices Sujoy Paul and Smita Das De observed this while hearing a public interest litigation alleging that several registered clubs across Bengal had been receiving government grants for organising Durga Puja without submitting any accounts. During the hearing, Advocate General Kishore Datta informed the bench that out of more than 41,000 clubs which received funds from the state last year, only three had failed to provide the mandatory utilisation certificates. Taking note of this, the court orally remarked: “Don’t give money to those who have not submitted the certificates.”
The bench further directed that clubs which are allotted funds for this year’s festivities will also have to file their utilisation reports with the state government after the celebrations conclude.
On a previous occasion, the court had requested records of expenditure from the state to verify whether the funds released for Durga Puja celebrations were being properly utilised.
The PIL had alleged that many of the 20,000-odd registered clubs in Bengal were not submitting their accounts, despite repeatedly drawing government funds.
Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya reminded the bench that a similar order had been issued earlier. Justice Paul also referred to a September 13, 2022, ruling, which had laid down that grants must be restricted to clubs complying with the deadline for submitting utilisation certificates.