Kolkata, Aug. 27 -- : The Calcutta High Court today ruled that Durga Puja committees which fail to submit utilisation certificates of previous state grants will not be entitled to fresh honorariums this year.
The division bench of Justice Sujoy Pal and Justice Smita Das De said only those committees that filed expense statements within the stipulated time, in line with earlier court directives, will receive the one-time state honorarium of Rs 1.1 lakh.
The judges also ordered the state government to submit a detailed report on utilisation certificates within a month after the puja holidays.
During the hearing, Advocate General Kishore Dutta informed the court that out of 41,795 puja committees across West Bengal, only three, all based in...