Shillong, Aug 13 (IANS) The Meghalaya High Court has strongly criticised the state government over prolonged delays in clearing medical and travel reimbursement bills of Judicial Officers, with some claims pending for nearly a decade, and directed the payment of 9 per cent annual interest on the delayed amounts, officials said on Thursday.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh passed the directions while hearing a petition filed by the Registrar General of the High Court of Meghalaya.
The court had earlier summoned the Secretaries of the Law and Finance departments after taking serious note of the prolonged pendency of several reimbursement claims.
Both officials appeared before the Bench on Monday. During the proceedings, the court noted that several bills had remained pending despite involving relatively small amounts. Among the claims cited was a bill of Rs 57,680 pending since October 2014 in the e-Proposal system, with no sanction order issued so far.
Another claim of Rs 15,860 had reportedly been pending with the Law Department since 2017, while Rs 22,126 had remained unsettled since June 2018.
“Some of the amounts are extremely negligible and small, yet they have not been disbursed till date,” the court observed, expressing concern over the reasons behind the prolonged delay.
Appearing for the state government, Advocate General A. Kumar assured the court that all proposals forwarded by the High Court would be taken up on priority and processed expeditiously.
He further stated that the pending bills of Judicial Officers would be cleared within two weeks. The court, however, directed the government to pay 9 per cent interest per annum on the delayed claims dating from 2014 to 2022.
The interest will be calculated from the respective dates of submission of the bills until the date of payment.
It further ordered that all pending bills from 2022 onwards be processed and disbursed within two weeks. The Bench also directed the Commissioner and Secretary of the Law Department to conduct an enquiry into the delays and take appropriate action against officials found responsible.
Meanwhile, the court reviewed the issue concerning GPO land near the High Court and directed the Advocate General and Deputy Solicitor General of India to convene a joint meeting with officials of the GPO, PWD and Urban Affairs Department to find a resolution.
–IANS
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