HC to hear PILs on state’s increased Durga Puja aid

Kolkata: Two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) have been filed at the Calcutta High Court against West Bengal government’s enhanced financial assistance to Durga Puja committees.

This year, the state announced a grant of Rs 1.10 lakh for each puja committee, a nearly 30 per cent increase from last year’s Rs 85,000.

With an estimated 45,000 Puja clubs across Bengal, the total expenditure is expected to touch around Rs 495 crore from the public exchequer.

The petitions came up before a division bench comprising Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Smita Das De. Counsel for the petitioners argued that taxpayer money should not be diverted for religious festivities, pointing out that the High Court itself had previously emphasised the need for accountability in such grants.

Representing the state, lawyers dismissed the objections, remarking: “Every year, they come with the same issue. Only during the Durga Puja, they come for the public; the remaining year, they do not think about the public.”

The matter will likely be heard again next Monday.

One of the petitions was filed by Sourav Dutta of Durgapur, who has challenged the state’s Puja aid multiple times in the past. His plea on the same issue was dismissed last year. In 2022, however, the High Court had directed that Puja committees must submit utilisation certificates to ensure accountability. The state first began offering financial support to Puja organisers in 2018, starting with Rs 10,000 per committee. The amount was raised to Rs 25,000 in 2019 and has grown steadily since.

Durga Puja will be celebrated in the last week of September, culminating in the annual carnival on October 5.