Karnataka High court rejects BJP MLA's PIL to release funds for civic works

Bengaluru:The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed a PIL petition filed by Dasarahalli MLA Muniraju concerning infrastructural projects in his constituency.

The BJP MLA had sought the court's intervention to release Rs 78 crore for public works and to ensure a time-bound completion of the projects.

In his petition, Muniraju claimed that the state cabinet had sanctioned Rs 570 crore for the Dasarahalli constituency under the Chief Minister's New Bengaluru Planning Scheme. However, the proposal was cancelled eight months later.

He argued that roads and buildings in his constituency were in poor condition and that, even under the Chief Minister’s Nagarothana Scheme, works worth up to Rs 90 crore were pending, with the tendered Rs 78 crore still unreleased.

The government advocate informed the court that the petitioner had submitted a representation to the chief secretary on May 8, 2024, and that the issue fell within the state government's purview.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice NV Anjaria and Justice KV Aravind ruled that the grievance raised in the PIL was not suitable for judicial intervention.

"Sanctioning of grant, the extent thereof, cancellation, modification, reduction or enhancement of the amount of grant to be given to the assembly constituencies for the betterment of the people of the constituency is the subject matter to lie entirely in the domain of the elected government. As to what grant is to be sanctioned for a particular assembly constituency or part of an area is the decision to be taken by the executive on behalf of the government of the day. It is essentially a policy decision of the popular government,” the bench said.

The court further noted: "The petitioner herein is an elected representative. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly. It is always open for the petitioner to flag such issues before the House or before the government and its competent authorities. They are the right platform to raise and ventilate the grievance, not the courts. Filing a writ petition in the nature of public interest and seeking relief on such scores could not be said to be justified.”