Centre spent over Rs 561 crore in court cases in last eleven years: Report
'Over seven lakh cases still pending'
New Delhi: The Union government has spent a staggering Rs 561.08 crore on litigation over the past 11 years, even as 7.18 lakh court cases involving various ministries and departments remain unresolved across the country.
Among ministries facing litigation, the Ministry of Finance leads with 1.93 lakh cases, followed by Indian Railways with 1.15 lakh cases and the Ministry of Defence with 96,526 cases. At the other end of the spectrum, the Ministry of Cooperation has just one case pending, followed by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (3), Panchayati Raj (13) and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (17), as reported by Deccan Herald on Monday.
This data was presented to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice earlier this year, during its examination of the Ministry of Law and Justice’s Demands for Grants for 2025–26.
Within two weeks of the panel tabling its report in Parliament, the Ministry on April 4 issued the ‘Directive for the efficient and effective management of litigation by the Government of India’ to prevent “unwanted” litigation, minimise “unwarranted” appeals and address “inconsistencies” in notifications and orders to reduce caseload, added DH.
The Parliamentary committee report revealed a fluctuating trend in litigation-related expenditure over the years. In 2014–15, the government spent Rs 26.64 crore, which increased steadily to Rs 65.83 crore by 2017–18. A slight dip occurred in 2018–19, with spending reduced to Rs 51.85 crore. This was followed by another increase in 2019–20 to Rs 61.08 crore. During the pandemic years of 2020–21 and 2021–22, expenditure fell to Rs 58.43 crore and Rs 48.56 crore respectively.
However, costs began rising again post-pandemic, reaching Rs 57.45 crore in 2022–23 and peaking at Rs 66.57 crore in 2023–24—the highest in the past decade.
For the current fiscal year (2024–25), Rs 39.06 crore has already been spent by December 31, 2024.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
