Durga Puja Grants Under Scrutiny: A Legal Battle Unfolds in West Bengal

The Calcutta High Court has pressed the West Bengal government for specifics regarding the financial accountability of Durga Puja organisers. The court has set an August 27 deadline for the state's affidavit to detail the utilisation of funds given in previous years.

A division bench inquired whether Puja organisers followed court orders to submit grant expenditure details. Concerns arose about committees using state funds without compliance, as no previous objections had been raised. This insistence on pre-festival accountability was challenged by Advocate General Kishore Dutta, who argued for post-festival deliberations, but the court emphasized the urgency of addressing these issues timely.

The case follows a PIL by Sourav Dutta disputing the annual grant's recent hike to Rs 1.10 lakh per Puja committee, a scheme dating back to 2018. The activist highlights a lack of filed certificates and questions public fund usage for these events. The court's decision on this complex financial-cultural issue will be crucial for procedural governance.

(With inputs from agencies.)