City-based NGO Chale Chalo organised a State-level workshop on Gram Nyayalaya Act-2008 here on Saturday.
Attending as chief guest, former Finance Minister Panchanan Kanungo said Gram Nyayalayas are mobile village courts established under Gram Nyayalaya Act-2008 for speedy and easy access to justice system in the rural areas.
“If we establish Gram Nyayalaya in every village, then it would help wider use and propagation of local language,” he added. He also said politics generally divides the village people for votes leading to many disputes and the village level courts can come handy in this context, he opined.
Retired judges should be appointed in the Gram Nyayalayas as they have experience, Kanungo said. “We should also create awareness among the people about the Nyayalayas,” he maintained.
Former Information Commissioner Jagadananda suggested that there should be conceptual clarity in the law so that the common people can understand it.
The Act came into force on October 2, 2009. It was envisaged to set up 5,000 Gram Nyayalayas by 2012 in the country. However, only 194 such courts could be set up in the country by March, 2015. Odisha has set up 16 Gram Nyayalayas and contemplated setting up 15 more, he informed.
But making the courts fully functional and effectively deliver justice at the doorstep of the rural poor still remains a great challenge, opined Jagadananda.
He said the major reasons behind the non-enforcement include financial constraints, reluctance of lawyers, police and other Government officials.
People living in rural areas are suffering a lot as they have to cover long distances to reach courts and that too have to attend courts for a long period since the legal process is very lengthy and complicated. For them, attending court is a nightmare, Jagadananda said, and hoped that village courts can give relief to the poor and hapless villagers.
ClAP president Dr Bikash Das said there should be paralegal workers who can simplify the laws and the legal procedures to the villagers.
The objective of organising the workshop is for active involvement and kind cooperation for better implementation of Gram Nyayalaya Act-2008 in rural areas of the State, said Chale Chalo chairman Rudra Madhab Barik. Ranjit Kumar Swain gave vote of thanks.
A technical session on “Gram Nyayalaya Act-2008 and Equal Access to Justice by Disadvantageous Groups” was also organised on the occasion.