Punjab-Haryana High Court
Raj Kumar Gautam vs State Of Punjab And Another. on 15 July, 2009
Bench: T.S.Thakur, Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia
HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH.
***
CWP NO. 13159 of 2008.
Date of decision: July 15, 2009.
*** Raj Kumar Gautam Versus State of Punjab and another.
***
Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice T.S.Thakur,CJ and
Hon'ble Mr. Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia.
*** Present: Shri Ranjan Lakhanpal, Advocate, for the petitioner.
Shri Rupinder Khosla,Additional: AG, Punjab.
*** T.S.Thakur, CJ (Oral) One of the Directive Principles of the State Policy which Part IV of the Constitution of India provides for in the form of Article 41 is that the State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provisions for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want. Similarly Article 45 requires the State to endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years. As a step in aid of the above constitutional goals, objectives and aspirations the Government of Punjab have in terms of a notification dated March 16, 2005 formulated what are known as the ''Punjab Social Security Fund Regulations, 2005''. Regulations 3 of the said Regulation requires the State Government to constitute a fund to be known as the Social Security Fund, vested in the State Government. Regulation 7 enumerates the objects for which the fund can be utilized, while Regulation No. 8 entrusts the maintenance and operation of the fund to the care of department of Social Security,Women and Children Development and the Department of Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes through their respective Directorates. Regulations 3, 4, 7 and 9 of the above Regulation may at this stage be extracted for ready reference.
'' 3. Constitution of the Fund.- The State Government shall constitute a Fund to be known as the Social Security Fund, which shall vest in the State Government.
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4. Contribution towards the Fund.- The
following contributions shall be made to the Fund, namely :-
(a) enhanced electricity Duty from 5% to 10% and
(b) enhanced Stamp Duty from 6% to 9% on the sale of immovable property falling within the jurisdiction of the Municipalities and the Corporation.
Explanation:- The expression ''Municipality'' and ''Corporation'' shall have the same meaning as assigned to them respectively,- under the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911 and the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976.
7. Objects of the Fund.- The Fund shall be utilized for the following purposes, namely:-
(a) old age pension;
(b) financial assistance to widows and destitute women;
(c) financial assistance to dependent Children;
(d) financial assistance to disabled persons;
(e) ashirwad to Scheduled Caste, Christian girls and daughters of widows at the time of their marriages (now known as shagun scheme.)
(f) promotion of education among educationally backward classes;
(g) scholarship for post-matric students for Scheduled Castes;
(h) attendance scholarship to Scheduled Caste Primary Girls Students;
(i) pre-matric scholarship to Scheduled Caste Primary Girls Students;
(j) free books to Scheduled Castes students up to matric standard.
9. Utilization of Fund.- The Fund shall be utilized for the aforesaid objectives by the Director, Social Security, Women and Children Development and the Director, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes as per their respective schemes.''
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What is noteworthy is that the fund comprises contributions in the form of enhanced Electricity Duty and enhanced Stamp Duty levied on the sale of immovable property falling within the jurisdiction of the State Municipalities and the Corporations. While the duty on the former has been enhanced from 5% to 10% the latter has been raised from 6% to 9% to ensure that the objective for which the fund is created are achieved and the states liability under the regulations discharged on a regular and continuous basis. Significantly, the fund is also meant to be used for the laudable object of promotion of education among educationally backward classes; scholarship for post-matric students for Scheduled Castes; and attendance scholarship to admissible Scheduled Caste Primary Girls Students.
The petitioners grievance in this writ petition filed in Public Interest is that although the government have committed themselves to the grant of Social Security in terms of the above Regulation, not so fabulous amount of Rs. 250/- per month, payable to the beneficiaries who represent the weakest sections of the society, does not reach them for months. There have been, according to the petitioners, situations in which the beneficiaries of the scheme had to knock at the doors of this Court for a mandamus directing the respondents to release the pension dues payable to them. Reference in this connection is made to an order dated May 11, 2006 passed in CWP No.3553 of 2005 where a Division Bench of this Court had to direct immediate disbursement of the amount of pension payable to the eligible persons under the scheme. The petitioners have in the above backdrop, prayed for a mandamus directing the respondents to pay the arrears of pension payable to the poor, physically handicapped, widows and old age pensioners immediately.
In the reply affidavit filed on behalf of the respondent-state, the material facts have not been disputed. It is not disputed that although the pension scheme formulated by the government is in force yet the benefit of the same does not reach the beneficiaries on a regular basis. Such payments upto December 2008 were made, according to Mr. Khosla, only some time in March, 2009. Mr. Khosla further states on instructions that payment up to the end of
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March, 2009 have also been made to the eligible beneficiaries which implies that payments for the past three months have not been released so far. The delay in the making of the payment is according to the learned counsel, on account of a time lag between collection from the contributing source and disbursement of the amount to the beneficiaries. Mr. Khosla urged that while the state would endeavour to release the payment under the scheme to the beneficiaries on a regular basis in the first week of every calendar month, it would require reasonable time to streamline the implementation of the scheme to ensure timely payment of the amount to the beneficiaries.
The scheme framed by the government is a measure that needs to be appreciated for it provides financial assistance to destitute women, widows, dependent children and disabled persons and others belonging to the lessfortunate sections of our society. The State has done well to rise to the occasion to provide for social security to the poorest of the poor. What however, needs to be done is to make effective steps for a proper working of the scheme and timely payment of the assistance to those who deserve the same. That is particularly so when the amount of pension/assistance is limited to no more than Rs. 250/- per month and those dependent upon the State for such a paltry amount cannot endlessly wait or be forced to resort to litigation. Even otherwise we see no reason why the State should not effectively and purposefully manage the fund to ensure that the payment of the amount is made on a timely basis.
Mr. Khosla's contention that a time lag between the collection and disbursement is inevitable therefore needs notice only to be regretted. The amount which the State is disbursing to the beneficiaries is according to the statement provided by the State ranges between 526,67 crores during the year 2005-06 to 526.22 during the year 2007-08. As against the said amount, the State has during the year 2005-06 collected a sum of Rs. 580 crores and a sum of Rs.607-36 crores during the year 2006-07. The collection of funds during the year 2007-08 is shown to be Rs. 419.65 crores. It is not clear as to why the collection should have come down when rates of Electricity and Stamp duties
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have not been decreased. Suffice it to say that the collection and the expenditure over the past three years ie. 2006 to 2008 are almost equal and there is hardly any deficit which may create any financial difficulty for the State for a proper distribution of the funds. What appears to be missing in the entire scheme is the will to effectively operate the same and some kind of laxity on the part of the State machinery in disbursing the amount on a timely basis. These aspects need to be examined and appropriate administrative and other measures about to tone up the machinery for a proper utilization of the funds. This target can in our opinion be achieved within a period of six months from today. That in our view would give sufficient opportunity and time to the State to put its house in order and take all such steps as are necessary to ensure proper and effective management of the fund and timely disbursement of the same to those who are entitled to get the same.
We, accordingly allow this petition and direct that the State shall take appropriate steps and measures to ensure that the beneficiaries receive their financial assistance as envisaged in the Regulation refer to earlier on a regular basis. This should not however understood by the respondents that they can delay the payment or avoid the payment of the assistance under the Scheme on a regular monthly basis to the beneficiaries during the intervening period. The direction is given to provide an opportunity to the State to take remedial steps wherever necessary to ensure that such payments are made on regular basis from 1.4.2009. No order as to costs.
Order dasti.
(T.S.Thakur)
Chief Justice
July 15, 2009 (Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia)
Malik Judge