Follow Up: The Vellore SHGs win battle in the Court, will the local authorities listen?

I had earlier written about the change in status of Vellore (from Municipality to Corporation) resulting in the loss of livelihood to a group of poor and disabled SHG members under the agies of the Vellore Exnora Green Cross (link to earlier blog ). Now the Madras High Court has directed the Vellore Corporation to hand over the bus stand maintenance to the SHGs (link to the news item ). 

Mr. Justice Paul Vasanthakumar said that under the legislation, the State and the local authorities should grant assistance to non-governmental organisations for rehabilitating persons with disabilities. The petitioner was willing to pay the highest bid for five months, up to March-end. Given that the beneficiaries were physically challenged, widows and destitute women, the judge said, the Corporation should hand over maintenance to the federation up to March 31, on the basis of the charges collected as on today. Since the federation members were not allowed to collect maintenance charges since November, the civic body could demand only the proportionate amount, he said.

Though this is a temporary reprieve and there may be fresh bid to lucrative new bids from the next financial year, for now, the judgment has meant that the NGO and the SHG groups can breath easy.