PIL filed in Calcutta HC over Bengal govt hiking Durga Puja donations for clubs

Kolkata: After the recent decision of West Bengal government to increase the donation amount for clubs organising community Durga Puja in the state by Rs 15,000 to Rs 85,000 this year has been challenged at a division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday.

A public interest litigation has been filed by one individual Sourav Dutta at the division bench headed by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam.

Besides, increasing the annual donation to Rs 85,000 from the previous amount of Rs 70,000, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 23 directed the two power distribution utilities, namely West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) and CESC Limited, to increase the concession on power supply to the community Puja committees from 66 per cent to 75 per cent this year.

In his PIL, the petition has questioned the source of funds that will be shelved out for this donation purpose.

In his petition, Dutta has made a plea that there should be a proper audit by an independent agency on how the donations paid to the clubs during the last few years have been utilised by the club authorities concerned.

In the petition, the petitioner has questioned the justification of increasing the donation amount to the clubs year after year when the state government was unable to pay the enhanced dearness allowance to the its employees or other essential expenditure.

The Chief Minister has already announced that in 2025, the donation amount to each such club will be increased to Rs 1,00,000.

As per initial estimates, the total outflow of the dole package will be to the tune of Rs 500 crore, including Rs 365 crore as donations to 43,000 puja committees, of which around 3,000 are in Kolkata while the remaining were spread across the state.

Economic analysts feel that such enhancement in annual donations to the community puja committees is a wasteful expenditure, saying the state government should instead concentrate more on asset-creating capital expenditures, besides reducing avoidable revenue expenditures.