Savvy Thakur
Published on: 03 December 2022 at 19:44 IST
This week, the Bombay High Court stayed the implementation of two orders issued by the State government led by Eknath Shinde suspending work related to a development project initiated by the previous government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Justices RD Dhanuka and SG Dige of the division bench made the observation that suspending such work would cause the budget, which was already set aside for such work, to run out.
The High Court came to the conclusion that the State government could not suspend work on a development project after issuing a work order and approving the budget.
The plea submitted that, “In our at first sight view, the State Government previously having given orders subsequent to having supported the spending plan for the said work granted to a project worker to be done in the Town of the candidate panchayat, can’t suspend such work which would bring about slip by of the spending plan previously reserved for the said work and that likewise with practically no premise,”
On March 31, 2022, the government led by Thackeray had given the order to build gutters in the Belewadi village panchayat. On July 14, 2022, a work order was issued for the same thing.
The subsequent Shinde-led government issued an executive order suspending the work order on July 19 and 25.
The panchayat challenged this in the High Court, claiming that the Shinde government’s two orders failed to justify the suspension of the budget, which had already been approved and included in the Finance Act.
Advocate SS Patwardhan, who represented the panchayat, said that the budget that had already been set aside would run out if the work wasn’t done.
He also mentioned a decision made by the High Court’s Aurangabad Bench, in which the Bench ordered the status quo on projects for which work orders had already been issued and work had been put on hold.
The Bench issued an interim stay on the effect and implementation of the Shinde government’s orders when Additional Government Pleader Kavita Solunke requested time to file an affidavit.
Case Title: Belewadi Village Panchayat v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.