CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court deferred scrutiny of the functioning of public libraries in the state to June 18 after the state government on Wednesday sought more time to file a reply to the PIL for proper implementation of the Odisha Public Libraries Act, 2001, and the Odisha Public Libraries Rules, 2016.
High court lawyer Prabir Kumar Das had filed the PIL on March 24, 2025. Das alleged inaction by the state government in creation of Odisha Public Libraries Council, Odisha Public Libraries Authority, Odisha Public Library Fund and Public Library Committees in each of the 30 districts, as envisaged in the Act. The vacancies in all the existing public libraries in the state include the Harekrushna Mahtab State Library, where alone 48 out of the 58 posts are lying vacant.
On April 5, the high court had posted the matter to May 7 to start hearing on the matter. However, on Wednesday, additional standing counsel Aishwarya Dash appearing on behalf of the state government submitted that she needs “more time to comprehend and collect all the relevant papers so that the decision of the government can be communicated to the court with clarity and precision.”
Taking it on record, the division bench of CJ Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman said, “On her prayer, let the matter be listed on June 18, 2025.”
The Odisha Public Libraries Act, 2001, the petition said, was enacted for establishment of a network of public libraries in the state and to maintain, regulate and integrate them to provide a comprehensive rural and urban library service.
The state had framed the rules to carry out the provisions of the Act in 2016 and constituted a directorate of public libraries in 2023. But it is yet to implement the Act’s provisions, which is imperative to nurture reading habits among the public, the petition said.