New Delhi: The Supreme Court has cast doubt over the development potential of India by holding that the country may never turn into a developed nation unless state governments earmark the minimum of 25% of their budget to crucial areas like health, education, sanitation, and infrastructure.
A two-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh observed that state governments automatically refer to fiscal constraints whenever the court inquires about the resumption of schools, disbursal of teacher salaries, and investments in healthcare and infrastructure. The bench observed that perhaps the time had come when the judiciary needed to nudge states to accord these basic areas top priority in budgeting.
Judicial Constraints on Policy Decisions
Even as it stressed the need for heightened public expenditure, the Supreme Court acknowledged its self-restraint in offering guidelines to fiscal measures. “We cannot guide any government to manage its budget. It is not the task of the judiciary to enter the sphere of policy issues,” ruled the bench. But it underlined that states must spend the lion’s share of their resources voluntarily to improve public health, education, and other core sectors.
PIL on Opening Village Libraries
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) for a direction to the central government to establish libraries in panchayats for educating citizens about their rights, constitutional values, history, culture, and affairs of the times. The bench, however, noted that it was the Centre and not the state governments’ domain to act on such a decision and any action on the Centre’s part would be viewed as an interference in the federalism.
Challenging the possibility of prioritizing libraries in a time when necessities like food, education, and health are not being met, the court posited, “If people are quarreling over essentials, what are libraries going to give them?” The bench posited that the states had discretion to choose where priorities are and where the money must go.
In disposing of the PIL, the Supreme Court instructed the state governments to take note of the grievances brought up by the petitioner and take steps for giving relief regarding the cause of there not being libraries in rural India. It suggested that states give consideration to introducing at least e-libraries in villages and utilize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of the private sector to make it economically feasible.
Demand for Greater Dedication to Public Welfare
The observations made by the court bring into focus the necessity of the hour for the state governments to overhaul their budgetary spending and accord proper priority to areas falling directly under public welfare and well-being. As healthcare and education are two of the biggest pillars of national development, the increased investment on these fronts can have a direct bearing on the livelihood of crores of Indians and propel the nation towards fulfilling its vision to become a developed nation.
