AP?told to spend on RTE initially

Hyderabad: The AP High Court directed the state government to spend its own money to implement the Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act, (RTE Act) 2009, and then ask the Centre for grant-in-aid.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar was disposing a Public Interest Litigation seeking to declare the inaction of the government in implementing The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 as illegal.

Secretary of the Citizens Transform IT Programme, a Non Governmental Organisation moved the plea urging the court to direct the state government to ensure implementation of the Act in all schools from the academic year 2014.

The state government, in its counter affidavit, has stated that it has issued orders on March 3, 2011 framing the AP Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules and these rules are further amended on September 9, 2011 for effective implementation of the Act.

The court was informed that a draft estimate prepared by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan of AP stated that Rs 22,000 crore would be needed for implementation of RTE Act in the state, which shall be shared by the state Centre and it was awaiting the grant-in-aid from the Government of India.

The bench found that the state government has to spend funds of its own share and can ask for the release of grant-in-aid. The bench pointed out that no document has been annexed to the affidavit to show that any step has been taken asking the Centre to release the grant-in-aid.

The bench said, “Under the aforesaid circumstances, we direct the state government to take steps for implementation of the scheme in accordance with the rules framed utilizing its own source of funds of its own share and then ask the Government of India for release of the grant-in-aid.”

PIL?for modification of BPL land policy

A Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the AP High Court PSN Murthy, secretary, CPM, Hyderabad district committee, and M. Srinivas, party secretariat member seeking a direction to the state government to modify its policy meant for assigning lands to the families of Below Poverty Line.

The petitioners brought to the notice of the court that the existing policy under GO Ms No. 166 is being benefited for rich and influential people. They said a word in the GO has been giving scope for the rich and influential people to get benefit of the policy.

As per the scheme only those who have dwelling houses or residential structure on the government land are eligible to get regularisation, but now the word “otherwise” is giving much scope to misuse the GO.

They said though the scheme was intended for transfer of rights to certain specified categories of occupants of unassigned government lands in the context of long-standing occupation of smaller extents by members of weaker sections, slum dwellers, low and middle income group people, several bigwigs benefited.

They urged the court direct the government to modify the GO to make it exclusively applicable to BPL families.