CHENNAI: A division bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed the PIL petitions challenging the GOs relating to payment of Rs 2,000 to the families living below poverty line (BPL) in Tamil Nadu.
The bench, comprising of Justices S Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, upheld the validity of the GOs while dismissing the PIL petitions from M Karunanidhi of Kadambur village in Villupuram district and Murugesan of Vellore.
According to petitioners, following a statement made by the Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on the floor of the Assembly that BPL families would be given special assistance of Rs 2,000 each, the TN Women’s Development Corporation (TNWDC) issued two GOs, the last one on February 13 last, which expanded the scope of the beneficiaries.
The system followed in identifying the beneficiaries was in total violation of the guidelines meant for identifying BPL families. Moreover, the timing of the implementation of the scheme was to achieve political mileage, petitioners contended.