NEW DELHI: What ails the Delhi government when it comes to building new court rooms and renovating old ones? A lack of funding is stalling the renovation of four court complexes under the Delhi High Court, according to the government’s reply to the Supreme Court earlier this week.
As per a report submitted to the Supreme Court, around 167 new court rooms are needed in these four court complexes — Karkardooma, Rohini, Tis Hazari and Saket — in the next two-three years.The Public Works Department had given an estimate of Rs 11,000 crore to the government for renovation and construction of additional rooms and infrastructure in the four court complexes. Last week, a Supreme Court bench had come down hard on the Delhi government, after it expressed its inability to carry out work on its own.
A finance department official said the total expenditure of the Delhi government is estimated to be around Rs 42,000 crore. “The budget for the next session is upon us, and we expect an increase of expenses by almost 10%. Now in such a scenario, either the government finds new sources of revenue or we will be unable to bear the expenses of around Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 crore per year for the courts,” the official said.
Lawyers agree that the court complexes are badly in need of more space as well as renovation. “Tis Hazari is one of the oldest courts in Delhi. The condition is very bad now. We have six acre of vacant land inside court complex which should be used for making new court rooms and residences for judges. The government should seriously take up renovation work,” said Sanjeev Nasiar, former head of the Delhi Bar Association.