Code of Conduct for election: High Court clears payments from relief fund

Thiruvananthapuram: The High Court has directed release of funds sanctioned from Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund which had been held up for want of clearance from the Election Commission of India under code of conduct for the elections.

The Court directed payment of a total of Rs. 44.54 crore to 44327 beneficiaries in 14 districts of the State on a petition filed by four of the beneficiaries.

The court issued a general order this purpose without limiting the relief to the petitioners.

The Government told the Court that Rs. 792 crores had been sanctioned from the fund to more than four lakh beneficiaries since the present government came to power and payments to applicants who received administrative sanction from September 2015 were pending. Most of the applicants who were sanctioned with amounts from the fund were kidney, heart or cancer patients.  The outstanding amounts were sanctioned before the declaration of the election on March 4, 2016.

Earlier report: Election Commission stalls heavy pay outs from Chief Minister’s Relief Fund