The vacant post of Advocate General (AG) in West Bengal is creating hurdles in the hearing of a PIL on alleged irregularities in the implementation of the 100-day job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), observed the Calcutta High Court on Monday.
Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, has also advised the West Bengal Government to apprise the government pleader on this count and arrange for alternatives.
The post of the AG has been lying vacant for over a month ever since SN Mukhopadhyay resigned from that Chair on November 10 and the state government is yet to announce or even finalise his replacement.
On Monday, Senior Advocate of the Calcutta High Court and the CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, sought the attention of the Chief Justice on the MGNREGA issue, stressing upon the need for an urgent hearing on the PIL, considering that a large number of people are yet to get their legitimate dues because of the lack of funds.
Two separate PILs have been filed in the Calcutta High Court recently on the MGNREGA issue.
The PIL filed by the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari is on the issue of gross irregularities in implementation of the 100-day scheme through the issuance of several fake job cards. The hearing on Adhikari’s PIL was scheduled for Monday.
The second PIL was filed by the West Bengal Khet Mazdoor Samity, an association of agricultural workers, alleging non-payment of wages to farm workers under the 100-day job scheme.
With the state government yet to finalise the name of the new AG, people in legal circles are wondering if no senior advocate is willing to accept the Chair in the backdrop of the experience of the previous AGs who were unable to function independently due to regular interference by the ruling Trinamool Congress regime.
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