Telangana HC Questions Government’s Spending Priorities Over Welfare Schemes

The Telangana High Court has questioned the government’s financial priorities while hearing a petition challenging government orders related to the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak welfare schemes. The court observed that it was not against implementing welfare programmes but wanted clarity on the government’s priorities in spending public money. It pointed out that small and marginal farmers who had given their land to the government were allegedly waiting for compensation for years, with officials citing lack of funds when appearing in contempt proceedings. The court also questioned the need to borrow money for welfare schemes and suggested that improving the financial performance of public-sector institutions such as the RTC could help generate resources for welfare programmes. It stressed that welfare measures should not become a burden on the people and that the issue needed to be viewed from a broader perspective.

The observations came during the hearing of a petition filed by advocate Vijay Gopal in his individual capacity, challenging eight government orders issued since 2014 concerning the Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes. Additional Advocate General Mohammed Imran Khan argued that the schemes were legitimate welfare measures aimed at discouraging child marriages and encouraging girls’ education, and that budgetary approval by the legislature was sufficient for their implementation. The petitioner, however, argued that public funds from the Consolidated Fund cannot be spent without proper legal authorisation and disputed claims that the state had no debt. The court said the matter required a detailed examination and deferred the hearing on the government’s request to lift the stay. The judge also directed that information relating to the schemes and details of the court proceedings should not be circulated on social media, and issued directions to the DGP, Meta, X and Google LLC in this regard.