Delhi CM announces 13-member committee for utilisation of lawyers’ welfare fund

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday announced that his government has constituted a 13-member committee for providing recommendations on the utilisation of ₹50-crore lawyers’ welfare fund.

Addressing a press conference at the Delhi Secretariat, Kejriwal said that in the budget this year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has allocated a fund of ₹50 crore for the welfare of lawyers under the Chief Minister Advocate Welfare Scheme.

Kejriwal added that the committee will be headed by Rakesh Kumar Khanna, president of Supreme Court Bar Association and will submit its report within 10 days.

“Delhi government recognises the contribution of lawyers to society. Fulfilling their demand, a sum of ₹50 crore was set aside in the budget for the Chief Minister Advocate Welfare Scheme for all lawyers in Delhi. A 13-member committee of lawyers announced today will decide how this money should be used,” Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal said that the Delhi government was the first in the country to have made a provision of ₹50 crore in its budget for the welfare of lawyers. In doing so, the CM said, his government has fulfilled one of the election promises. Delhi government, he said, is duty-bound to consider the demands of various sections of society, as evident in cases of street vendors, JJ clusters and the middle-class population of the city.

Friday’s announcement comes ahead of the Delhi assembly elections scheduled for early next year. “We are responsibly fulfilling our promises in the manifesto one by one. People from the middle class complained about expensive electricity and we made the electricity bill ‘zero’ for them. Our government is sensitive to the needs of people and we fulfil them with utmost care and dedication”, the chief minister said.

Later in the day, the government also issued an order in connection with the formation of the welfare committee. As per the order, K C Mittal, chairman of Bar Council of Delhi; Rahul Mehra, Standing Counsel (Delhi High Court); Mohit Mathur, president, Delhi High Court Bar Association; Rajesh Kaushik, vice-president, Dwarka Bar Association, and N C Gupta, president, Delhi Bar Association Tis Hazari Court are among the members of the committee. “The said committee may submit its recommendations towards drafting the scheme for the welfare of advocates within 10 days of formation,” the order stated.