New Delhi [India], July 5 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the CEO of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to appear in person in case the board fails to make payment of dues to the Akshay Patra Foundation which provide free meals in the night shelters of the national capital.
Delhi Government owes Rs 9.5 crores to the Foundation.
The High Court was hearing a PIL it initiated on its own after taking note of the media reports. The High Court expressed its displeasure over the non-payment of dues.
The division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Sanjeev Narula directed the Board to make payment by July 20, the next date of hearing.
The High Court had initiated a PIL after taking Cognizance of media reports of people deprived of cooked food at the night shelters. The court had directed the Foundation to continue providing food at night shelters at the existing rate.
Delhi Government Standing counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi submitted that it had made the decision to pay all dues to Akshaya Patra several weeks ago so that there are no hindrances in providing meals to people at night shelters
However, despite the ongoing proceedings and clear orders from the government some officials are still not making the payment and acting arbitrarily, Tripathi submitted.
He stated that if organizations like Akshaya Patra are being harassed, one can imagine how the officials might be dealing with other institutions.
During the hearing, the counsel for the Akshay Patra Foundation submitted that due to non-payment of dues, it has become difficult to provide meals at the night shelters.
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