The Additional Solicitor General stated before the Andhra Pradesh High Court that he would take up the matter regarding development of infrastructure for the Judiciary with the Ministry of Law and Justice and apprise the Court about the decision which is supposed to have been taken .
The Division Bench of Chief Justice R Raghunandan Rao and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur heard a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed highlighting the state of affairs with regard to judicial infrastructure in the State of Andhra Pradesh. After bifurcation of the state in the year 2019, there was an onerous responsibility placed on the stakeholders to develop the infrastructure facilities for the judiciary.
With a view to achieving that end, currently, as many as 19 projects are underway in most of which the construction is stalled on account of lack of funds and financial allocation in that regard.
On 03.01.2024, the Court had focused on the scheme of the Central Government by virtue of which the Central Government pays an amount to the extent of 60% and the State Government to the extent of 40% of the project cost. In this regard, the Court noted that the stand of the State Government is that there is a requirement of approximately Rs.656 crores for completing the judicial infrastructure in the state out of which, the share of the Central Government comes to Rs.394 crores.
Letter in this regard have been written by the State Government to the High Court on 23.01.2024 with a request to make a demand for release of the central share.
However, the counsel for the State has brought to the notice of the Court that a letter was addressed by the Court on the same day to the Central Government with a request to make a demand for the central share amounting to Rs.83.33 crores representing 60% of the outstanding demand which is payable to the contractors executing the various contracts.
The Court opined that the State Government ought to have made a request regarding the entire 60% representing Rs.394 crores being 60% of the project cost of Rs.656 crores, which has rightly been identified by the letter dated 19.01.2024 addressed by the Director in the Ministry of Law and Justice. The said letter also reflects that the department was examining the proposals and was in the process of releasing the next round of instalment to the state.
It has also been reflected in the said letter that an amount of Rs.19.26 crores was allocated to the state at the beginning of the financial year as per the weightage formula prescribed in the guidelines of which Rs.4.82 crores was released as the first instalment.
Be that as it may, the Court noted that if the figures, as reflected in the letter dated 19.01.2024, are taken as they are, then what would be payable by the Central Government would be only to the extent of Rs.14.44 crores which would not be sufficient to ensure completion of the various projects which have got stalled on account of lack of funds. It has also been brought to the notice of the Court that the central allocation under the said scheme to other states has been much higher.
“In any case, learned Additional Solicitor General states that he would take up the matter with the Ministry of Law and Justice and apprise the Court about the decision which is supposed to have been taken in terms of the guidelines as communicated by the letter dated 19.01.2024.
List on 21.02.2024″, the order reads.