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Calcutta High Court tells petitioner to approach West Bengal government on buffalo breeding scheme

The Calcutta High Court has observed that it is well open to the petitioner to approach the concerned authority of the State Government, which was in charge of the scheme called the National Programme for Buffalo Breeding and Dairying Development (NPBBDD) and place facts before the authority, which shall be considered by the authority, if adequate facts are placed by the petitioner.

The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice T. S. Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya disposed of a Public Interest Litigation seeking various directions in respect of a scheme formulated by the Government of India called National Programme for Buffalo Breeding and Dairying Development (NPBBDD).

The case of the petitioner primarily rests upon a direction given by the Paschim Banga Go-Sampad Bikash Sanstha dated 4th February, 2003, which shows that Rs.5,000/- has been collected from the petitioner. 

“It is not known as to why the petitioner had paid the said money and there is no specific averment in this regard in the writ petition”.

The petitioner  then place reliance on an affidavit filed by the Under Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry, Diarying and Fisheries, Government of India in a  petition filed before the High Court in Petition of 2014. This affidavit is pressed into service to show that funds were allotted to the State Government by the Central Government. Thereafter, the petitioner places reliance on an information furnished by the State Public Information Officer, PBGSBS to certain queries, which have been raised by the petitioner under the Right to Information Act.

By comparing the averments made in the affidavit filed in the said writ petition on behalf of the Government of India and the information furnished under the Right to Information Act, the petitioner’s case is that funds have been sanctioned and no money should have been collected from the petitioner.  

In view of the High Court  the case, as projected by the petitioner, is a stale claim and the petitioner seeks to place reliance on a receipt, which was issued in the year 2003 collecting Rs.5,000/- from the petitioner. In any event, from the averments made in the affidavit filed by the Government of India in Petition of 2014,  the Bench noted that no funds were made available to the State Government for implementation of the scheme after 2013- 2014. 

Further the affidavit states that State has utilized the released amount of Rs 7508.45 lakh and submitted utilization certificate to the department of Animal Husbandry, Diarying and Fisheries.

The copies of the sanctioned order and the utilization certificate received from the State were annexed to the said affidavit, which are not forming part of the present writ petition.

In any event, the petitioner without even approaching the concerned authority of the State Government has filed the writ petition seeking for an enquiry and other directions against the Central Investigating Agency, which cannot be entertained. Therefore, no direction, as sought for in the  petition can be granted at this juncture, held by the High Court.

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