Gujarat High Court
Kanooni Salah Kendra vs State Of Gujarat And Ors. on 4 August, 2001
Equivalent citations: (2002)1GLR505
Author: M. S. Shah
Bench: M.S. Shah
JUDGMENT M. S. Shah, J.
1. Rule. Service of rule is waived by Mr. H. H. Sompura, learned A.G.P., for respondent Nos. 1 to 4 and Mr. H. J. Shah, learned Advocate for respondent Nos. 3-4.
2. In this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, Kanooni Salah Kendra at Ahwa in Dangs District has challenged Resolution No. 210 dated 23-3-1999 of the Dangs District Panchayat. For the last about 25 years, prior to the date of the said resolution, the Dangs District Panchayat was running the scheme of arranging programs for propagating social welfare schemes of the Central and State Government and of the District Panchayat for the tribals in the Dangs District in the fields of prohibition, family planning, afforestation, child marriage restraint and adult education. It appears that two parties called Kalapathak and Powada were earlier entrusted staging such performances for propagating the aforesaid ideas before the tribals in the Dangs District. These parties would travel from village to village and reach out to the tribals in the interiors. The expenditure for these programmes was borne by the District Panchayat out of its own funds. However, it appears that the Audit Department had raised objections and also suggested recovery of Rs. 86,593/- for the year 1995-96.
However, on account of the aforesaid objections and the notice for recovery, the Dangs District Panchayat passed Resolution No. 210 dated 23-3-1999 (Annexure-H) for discontinuing the programmes from 1-4-1999. The said resolution at Annexure-H is under challenge to this petition.
3. The petitioner is a non-government organisation rendering its socio-legal services in the Dangs district since 1995. The main object of the petitioner-institution is tribal welfare. The State Government had appointed a Committee called Bhuria Committee for suggesting measures for the welfare of the tribals. The Committee had submitted a report making certain recommendations. The petitioner-Institution has been working in the Dangs district for creating an awareness amongst the tribals about the recommendations and also to see that the recommendations of the Committee are properly implemented. The petitioner-Institution also conducts legal awareness training camps etc. No dispute is raised by any of the respondents about the credentials of the petitioner-Institution.
4. The petitioner has pointed out in the memo of the petition that by government resolution dated 13-6-1958, the then Government of Bombay had allocated certain funds for carrying out the prohibition propaganda programmes. The Government had decided to actively support certain troupes involved in folklore dance regarding prohibition. The groups actively supported by the Government were Kalapathak and Powada groups. The activity was continued by the Government of Gujarat as per resolution dated 6-8-1973 (Annexure-B). However, the Government of Gujarat discontinued giving financial aid for this activity by Government resolution dated 1-5-1979.
Though the State Government discontinued activity, the Dangs District Panchayat, wherein majority of the population is tribals, passed resolution dated 28-6-1979 to continue the aforesaid laudable activities by funding those activities from the Panchayat funds. The Dangs District Panchayat also decided to expand the area of activities to spread awareness amongst the tribals not only on the issue of prohibition, but also in the fields of family planning, afforestation, child marriage restraint and adult education. The District Panchayat also included other subjects like various employment schemes floated by the State Government and Central Government like Indira Vikas Yojna and Jawahar Rojgar Yojna and various other government schemes for the benefit of tribals.
The District Panchayat resolved to get such programmes conducted by the same troupes i.e. Kalapathak and Powada which were popularly known as Tamasha parties by engaging artists on contract basis. The troupes were assigned 15 villages every month by the District Development Officer of the Dangs District Panchayat. The monthly programmes were thus chalked out in advance. The Dangs District Panchayat accordingly continued to carry on these laudable activities by funding the troupes from its own funds.
5. The employees in the Audit Department, who did not appreciate the efficacy of such programmes raised objections against the alleged non-approval of the Development Commissioner for such expenditure. It appears from the letter dated 26-10-1999 from the District Social Welfare Officer, Dangs (Annexure-E) that earlier the Executive Committee of the Dangs District Panchayat had passed Resolution No. 105 dated 15-5-1979 approving the above scheme, but the Development Commissioner had held the same to be illegal by his communication dated 12-2-1980. It is the stand of the Dangs District Panchayat before this Court that the District Panchayat went on requesting the Development Commissioner to grant approval to the expenditure for such programmes out of the funds of the District Panchayat itself, but no reply has been received by the District Panchayat so far.
6. However, in view of the discontinuance of the programmes with effect from 1-4-1999, the concerned troupes approached the petitioner-institution and having found that the Kalapathak and Powada troupes were rendering valuable services to the tribals and that discontinuance of such services will be detrimental to the tribals whose welfare is being espoused by the petitioner-institution, the petitioner-institution has approached this Court challenging the aforesaid resolution dated 23-3-1999 of the Dangs District Panchayat at Annexure-H.
7. In response to the notice issued by this Court, affidavit-in-reply has been filed by Mr. S. M. Gamit, Incharge District Development Officer, Dangs District Panchayat pointing out that the Dangs District Panchayat was incurring the expenditure for the aforesaid purpose out of its own funds and that when the objection was raised about non-approval of the expenditure by the State Government authorities, the District Panchayat submitted a proposal to the Development Commissioner, time and again, copies of some such proposals and reminders are produced at Annexure-C, D & E reiterating that the Dangs District Panchayat had passed resolutions on 15-5-1979 and 19-6-1979. However, in view of the audit objections which went to the extent of ordering recovery, the Dangs District Panchayat passed the impugned resolution dated 23-3-1999 (Annexure-H).
The affidavit-in-reply has also been filed by Mr. M. A. Gandhi, Superintendent, Excise and Prohibition, Valsad, Dangs stating that the Dangs District Panchayat is not working under the Prohibition and Excise Department and that no grants are being released by the said Department for the aforesaid purpose which is the subject-matter of this petition. In short, the said affidavit does not throw any light on the subject-matter of the petition.
8. Various other officers of the State Government including Director of Excise and Prohibition, Chief Secretary, Revenue Department, Secretary. Tribal Welfare Department, Development Commissioner and Director of Excise & Prohibition have been joined as respondents in this petition. However, none of them have thrown any light on the subject-matter of this petition.
In view of the above, the Court proceeds to deal with the grievances raised and challenges made in the petition.
9. Article 15 of the Constitution which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth specifically provides that the State is not prevented from making any special provision for the advancement of Scheduled Tribes. Article 46 specifically provides that the State shall promote and take special care of the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular of Scheduled Caste & Schedule Tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all types of injustice. Article 45 provides for free and compulsory education for children. Article 47 enjoins upon the State that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties, and in particular, the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption (except for medicinal purposes) of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health. Article 41 provides for right to work, education and public assistance in certain cases.
10. All these Directive Principles of State policy are being fundamental in the governance of the country and the State is duty-bound to apply them in making laws and in administering them. These principles are required to be kept in the forefront by the State Government and the District Panchayats. The Dangs District has the tribals as 98% of its population and had rightly decided to generate and spread awareness amongst the inhabitants in the District about all such laudable ideas like prohibition, family planning, afforestation, child marriage restraint and adult education. Instead of encouraging such activities, the State Government not merely discontinued the grant which it was earlier paying to the Dangs District Panchayat, but the Development Commissioner and the State disapproved of the expenditure being incurred by the Dangs District Panchayat for these programmes.
11. In fact, the manner in which the issue was so casually treated is apparent from the order dated 12-2-1980 (Annexure-F). The Dangs District Panchayat had by its Resolution No. 102 dated 15-5-1979 decided to fill in 1 out of the 4 vacancies in the cadre of Gujarati typists on the establishment of the District Panchayat and had by Resolution No. 105 dated 15-5-1979 decided to give an allowance of Rs. 150/- to the drivers and had also decided to pay a monthly sum of Rs. 250/- to the persons engaged for propagating prohibition policy. The Development Commissioner observed that although the expenditure for the aforesaid action was to be met from the funds of the District Panchayat itself, the District Panchayat had not obtained prior approval before passing Resolutions Nos. 102 and 105 dated 15-5-1979, and therefore, the implementation of the resolutions was ordered to be kept in abeyance. That order appears to be some sort of interim order as the Development Commissioner had stated that the final decision will be taken after hearing the parties. There is nothing on record to show as to what further decision was taken.
12. But in any view of the matter from the aforesaid discussion, it is apparent that the Development Commissioner had not at all applied his mind to this vital aspect about the purpose which was being served by the programmes funded by the Dangs District Panchayat. If such a Senior Officer of me State Government had shown some sensitivity to issues involved in the matter and the Directive Principles of State policy embodied in the Constitution, the Development Commissioner would not have passed the impugned order or atleast would have taken care to see that any procedural bottlenecks could be removed and the District Panchayat would have been encouraged to continue with the programmes for generating and spreading awareness amongst the tribals in the Dangs district on such vital issues as prohibition, family planning, afforestation, child marriage restraint and adult education.
13. Considering all the aforesaid relevant aspects and considering the fact that the Dangs District Panchayat itself is ready and willing to continue the programmes and mat the only reason why the impugned resolution was passed was the objections raised by the Audit Department and the threat of recovery, this Court is more than happy to exercise its jurisdiction in favour of the District Panchayat and to quash and set aside the impugned Resolution No. 210 dated 23-3-1999 with a direction that the Dangs District Panchayat shall continue to arrange the programmes for generating and spreading awareness amongst tribals for propagating prohibition, family planning, afforestation, child marriage restraint and adult education through the dance troupes by making them payment on contract basis. Of course, the District Panchayat shall keep in mind the reasonableness of the amounts to be spent for the programmes, but the District Panchayat shall not be deterred from organising these programmes merely on the ground that the Audit Department has raised in the past objections and threatened recovery. No other respondent shall restrain the Dangs District Panchayat from organising these programmes from its own funds, unless any authority competent to impost any limits on the expenditure by the District Panchayat from its own funds has predetermined such limit in advance at the commencement of the year and has communicated the same to the District Panchayat in the very first month of the relevant financial year.
14. This petition is accordingly allowed in the aforesaid terms. Rule is made absolute with no order as to costs.