Committee of lawyers to recommend how 50 crore for Advocates Welfare Fund will be spent: Arvind Kejriwal

Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal today announced that a 13-member committee of lawyers will be set up to make recommendations on the utilization of the Rs 50 crore earmarked for the Advocates Welfare Fund by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government..Kejriwal today announced that instead of the government deciding on the use and utilization of this fund, a 13-member committee comprising representatives of all lawyers’ bodies will be set up. This committee will make recommendations regarding how the funds will be used. A report of these recommendations will have to be submitted within a period of ten days..While making the announcement, Kejriwal said that the AAP government recognizes the contribution of lawyers, and had therefore earmarked Rs 50 crore for their benefit and welfare. He said,.“We had announced the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Fund under which an amount of Rs 50 Crores was earmarked in the Budget of 2019-20. The Government of Delhi recognizes the contribution made by the lawyers and had fulfilled the demand of the Lawyers for a separate scheme for their welfare. I believe this is the first time that a Government anywhere has put aside an amount as large as this for the benefit of lawyers.”.The announcement for the budgetary allocation was made by the Chief Minister in February this year at an event organized at Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court Complex. Kejriwal had then declared that the grant of Rs 50 crore would not be a ‘one-time’ grant, but would be recurring in nature..The grant comes after initial funding of Rs 1 crore was granted by the Delhi Government in 2001 at the time of enactment of Advocates’ Welfare Fund Act, 2001. In November last year, the Bar Council of Delhi had written to the CM seeking an annual grant of Rs. 10 crores.