BENGALURU: The Cabinet is expected to take up a proposal to start Grama Nyayalayas in 400 or more gram panchayats across Karnataka, as a tangible step to take justice to the grassroots. The thinking is that local disputes and legal issues need to be redressed locally.
The proposal is likely to be taken up in the Cabinet on Thursday afternoon. Expected to cost about Rs 100 crore, it will be a huge administrative step. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, DyCM DK Shivakumar and Law Minister HK Patil have held meetings with the bureaucracy -- the chief secretary, legal secretary, revenue secretary and other stakeholders to make justice available to people in villages. There are more than 8,000 gram panchayats and it will take years before each village gets a court.
Grama Nyayalayas were proposed to be taken up in villages across the nation, and Karnataka, as a pilot project, started two Nyayalayas which are still functioning. As a policy issue, the Union government encourages Grama Nyayalayas, which will be deemed to be Judicial Magistrate Court of First Class, with both criminal and civil jurisdictions to settle petty disputes.
Grama Nyayalayas have been started in many states, and 257 courts are operational in 10 states. Madhya Pradesh has 89 functional Grama Nyayalayas, Rajasthan has 45, Uttar Pradesh has 44, Kerala 30, Maharashtra has 23, and Odisha has 19 such courts.
The Central government provides assistance to states towards non-recurring expenses, subject to a maximum of Rs 18 lakh, and other expenses to the tune of about Rs 3.2 lakh, sources said. The Union government could chip in to set up these village courts in Karnataka, with its share of one-time and recurring expenditure going up to around Rs 85 crore.
Once the government gives administrative approval, it could take a few months for the courts to be set up, sources said. Once the 400 Grama Nyayalayas turn functional, Karnataka will have the highest functional Grama Nyayalayas across the nation.