Madras HC refuses to direct TN govt to provide financial assistance to ration card holders for Pongal
The PIL moved by an advocate, A Mohandoss, of BJP, stated that the farmers, daily wagers, and women hailing from the northern districts of the State were affected due to the recent torrential rainfall.
Madras High Court (File)
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court refused to direct the State to give Rs 2,000 financial assistance as part of the Pongal gift for ration card holders. How can the court intervene in this issue, as it is the policy decision of the State, wondered a vacation bench of Justice SM Subramaniam and Justice V Lakshminarayanan, while rejecting a public interest litigation seeking to direct the State to give Rs 2,000 financial assistance to every ration card holder along with the Pongal gift. The PIL moved by an advocate, A Mohandoss, of BJP, stated that the farmers, daily wagers, and women hailing from the northern districts of the State were affected due to the recent torrential rainfall.
"We will be happy if the government gives even Rs.3,000 to the poor people", said Justice SM Subramaniam. Instead of allowing corruption, the government can help the poor by curbing large scale corruption and give that money to the poor people, eventually 'social justice', which several political parties advocate, can be achieved, observed the judge.
The PIL was moved by an advocate A Mohandoss of BJP, claiming that the farmers, daily wagers, and women hailing from the northern districts of the State were affected heavily due to the recent torrential rainfall and floods. They were expecting financial assistance from the government as the government provided cash along with Pongal gifts from 2009 to 2024, he said.
However, this year the DMK government did not announce the financial assistance citing the financial crunch, he submitted. Even though the government, facing a financial crisis in the past, distributed financial assistance when the elections were around the corner. As no elections were announced this year, the government decided not to give the cash, he alleged.
The voters have every legitimate right to expect financial assistance along with Pongal gifts as they received from the government in past years, added the advocate.
