Supreme Court To Review Punjab's Plea For Release Of Rural Development Funds

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider listing an interim plea of the AAP-led Punjab government seeking release of over Rs 1,000 crore urgently from the Centre on account of alleged dues pertaining to the Rural Development Fund.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was urged by lawyer Shadan Farasat, appearing for the state government, that an interlocutory application (IA), in a pending lawsuit against the Centre, has been filed seeking urgent release of over Rs 1,000 crore as an interim measure.

"We are only requesting that the IA be listed next week...if possible. There is an urgent need for funds," he said. The CJI agreed to list the plea for an early hearing.

The Bhagwant Mann government, in 2023, had moved the top court alleging non-release of the Rural Development Fund and withholding a portion of the market fee by the Centre. It alleged that the Centre owed Punjab over Rs 4,200 crore.

The plea said the RDF and market fee enabled the effective functioning of the procurement process.

The state government had a prerogative in determining the rates for the market fee and the RDF for the purposes of procurement of food grains as it was recognised under the Constitution, it said.