Manju Ali Sk v. The State of Assam and 5 Ors

ORDER Date : 26.07.2023

¶1The instant writ petition is filed by the petitioner challenging the inaction on the part of the Respondent Authorities in releasing the dues to which the Petitioner is entitled to upon completion of the work allotted to him by the Block Development Officer, Dotma Development Block, Kokrajhar.

¶2The case of the Petitioner herein is that the Petitioner supplied Concrete Blocks, Cement Bags to the District Rural Development Agency, Kokrajhar for construction of Indira Gandhi Model Rural C.C. Pavement Road under the MGNREGA Scheme. The learned counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the materials were supplied to the department in 2014-2015 and the Petitioner has submitted a bill of an amount of Rs.9,47,500/-. However, out of the total bill amount, the Respondent Authorities has transferred only an amount of Rs.1,95,000/- to his bank account on 06.04.2017 and a balance of Rs.7,52,000/- remain unpaid to the Petitioner till date. It is under such circumstances, the Page No.# 3/4 instant writ petition has been filed.

¶3It has been alleged that the total sanctioned amount i.e. Rs.70,00,000/- for construction work have already been released by the Government to the concerned department but the Respondent Authorities have held up the payment of the Petitioner for the reasons best known to him.

¶4Mr. S. R. Rabha, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Respondents submits that there is no denial to the fact that the work in question was not allotted to the Petitioner. The learned counsel for the Respondents however submits that the entitlement of the Petitioner would be dependent upon further verification to be carried out by the Respondent Authorities.

¶5Upon perusal of the materials on record, this Court is of the opinion that if the Petitioner had completed the work in question, the Petitioner would be entitled to the amount as claimed. However, for the same, verification on the part of the Respondent Authorities would be required.

¶6This Court, therefore, disposes of the instant writ petition with a direction to the Respondent Authorities to verify as to whether the Petitioner has supplied the Concrete Blocks, Cement Bags to the Department as per the allotment of the work and also as to whether the Petitioner had submitted requisite documents which are required for the purpose of releasing the amount claimed by the Petitioner.

¶7This Court further directs that upon verification, if it is found that the Petitioner is entitled to, the Respondent Authorities shall pay to the Petitioner the entitlement to the extent of the supplies made by the Petitioner. Page No.# 4/4

¶8The said exercise be completed with a period of 6 (six) months from the date a certified copy of the instant order is served upon the Principal Secretary, BTC.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010226242021 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/3743/2022o MANJUoALIoSKo S/OoDAFARoALIoSK,oR/OoVILL-SINGIMARI,oP.O.-SAKTIASRAM,oP.S.- FAKIRAGRAM,oDIST-KOKRAJHAR,oASSAM,oPIN-783354 VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo5oORSo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVTo OFoASSAM,oPANCHAYAToANDoRURALoDEVELOPMENT,oGOVT.oOFoASSAM,o DISPUR,oGUWAHATI-06 2:THEoDIRECTORoPANCHAYAToANDoRURALoDEVELOPMENToDEPARTMENT oPANJABARI oGUWAHATI-28 3:THEoDEPUTYoCOMMISSIONER oKOKRAJHAR oP.O.oANDoDIST-KOKRAJHARo(BTAD) oASSAM oPIN-783370 4:THEoPROJECToDIRECTORoDRDA oKOKRAJHAR oP.O.oANDoDIST-oKOKRAJHARo(BTAD) oASSAM oPIN-783370 5:THEoBLOCKoDEVELOPMENToOFFICERoDOTMAoDEVELOPMENToBLOCK oP.O.oANDoP.S.-DOTMA oDIST-KOKRAJHARo(BTAD) oASSAM oPIN-783347 Page No.# 2/4 6:THE JUNIOR ENGINEER DOTMA DEVELOPMENT BLOCK P.O. AND DIST- KOKRAJHAR (BTAD) ASSAM PIN-78334 For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. M. A. Mandal, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. S. R. Rabha, Advocate for BTC : Ms. N. Borah, Advocate for P&RD BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH