Rs. 85,000 is meagre, Bengal govt should consider Rs. 10 lakh: Calcutta HC's sarcasm over Durga Puja dole

The state government, which faces criticism for its freebies, hiked the annual grant from Rs. 75,000 to Rs. 85.000 this year.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already announced the grant will be extended to Rs. 1 lakh in 2025.

Hearing a plea seeking the halting of the dole, the High Court directed the government to file an affidavit on disbursal of funds and its utilisation by the clubs and NGOs.

With sarcasm, Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam said he visited the Durga Puja marquees in the previous two years and felt the amount offered to them by the government is nothing as compared to the expenditure.

The bench said the expenditure's nature has to be listed and submitted to the concerned authorities in view of the previous court orders on the same issue.

The High Court has noted that the government pays a bare minimum amount to people suffering from disability caused due to muscular dystrophy.

PWD workers posted to the High Court are also not adequately paid, said the Chief Justice.