Point of Law: Time limit for completion of project provided under Scheme does not contain any clause that time period prescribed for completion of project cannot be extended by Board.

JUDGMENT :

VIVEK SINGH THAKUR, J.

1. These petitions, involving common question of fact and law required to be appreciated for adjudication of these petitions, are being decided by this common judgment.

2. Respondent No. 2 National Horticulture Board (herein after referred to NHB) has been set up by the Government of India in 1984 as an autonomous society under the Societies Registration Act 1860, which implements programmes as sub-scheme of Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and has formulated various schemes with aims and objectives of development and promotion of horticulture, popularization of new technologies/tools/techniques in horticulture, assistance to the horticulture, transfer of technology and carrying out studies and surveys to identify constraints and develop short and long term strategies for systematic development of horticulture and providing technical services including advisory and consultancy services in order to propagate commercial horticulture.

3. Pattern of assistance provided by NHB is credit linked backended subsidy @ 35% of the total project cost limited to 50.75 lakh per project in general area and @ 50% of project cost limited to 72.50 lakh per project in NE, region Hilly and Scheduled areas.

4. As per scheme of NHB, Harish Chander father of Sudhir Khimta (petitioner in CWP No. 2671 of 2018) as well as Jyoti Lal Mehta and Rajinder Singh (respective petitioners in CWP Nos. 2672 and 2673 of 2018) had submitted applications on prescribed format for setting up respective projects of ‘apple packing and grading unit’ by raising loan from respective banks, arrayed as party as respondent No. 5 in each petition, with purpose for availing back-ended subsidy of 50% on project cost under the Scheme.

5. After death of Harish Chander, his son Sudhir Khimta (petitioner in CWP No. 2671 of 2018) pursued and carried on the process of availing subsidy by setting up the unit as proposed by his father.

6. After purchase and setting up the machinery and completing the work of unit and making it operational, petitioners, after inspection conducted by authorized officer of the Bank, through Bank, had requested for release of subsidy alongwith request for joint inspection of the unit. Whereafter correspondence took place between the Bank and NHB for submission of documents for completing the file and thereafter joint inspection was conducted by respective Joint Inspection Committees on various dates and in their Joint Inspection Reports, Joint Inspection Team/Committee recommended release of subsidy to the petitioners subject to completion of certain civil works in CWP Nos. 2671 and 2673 of 2018 and subject to consideration of fact in CWP No. 2672 of 2018 that one installment of term loan as well as completion of unit was reported after 18/24 months from the date of sanction and release of NHB subsidy.

7. Joint Inspection Reports were placed before State Committee for approval and release of subsidy, however cases were deferred with observation of non-completion of projects within time limit. The said fact was intimated by the Bankers to the petitioners. Petitioners, through respective Banks had explained that there is no non-completion but completion of civil work was within time period prescribed by the NHB, but cases for subsidy submitted by respective Banks on behalf of petitioners were rejected with following reasons:

“The unit was not completed within the stipulated time i.e. 18 months + 3 months grace period from the 1st disbursement of term loan as per Scheme Guideline of the Board.”

8. Against aforesaid rejection, petitioners have approached this Court by filing these Writ Petitions on the ground that majority of work required for setting up units was complete within the prescribed time and it was reported to the Banks and Banks had requested NHB for carrying out joint inspection, but before conducting inspection, correspondence took place between the Banks and NHB for completing the formalities inclu