Hyderabad, April 23: Lok Satta Party president Jayaprakash Narayan has requested chief minister K Rosaiah to take immediate steps for constituting gram nyayalayas (rural courts).
The Gram Nyayalayas Act promises speedy, accessible and affordable justice to the poor who have gone without it because of barriers of costs, distance, language and procedures. “The Act provides for establishment of over 1,100 local courts in Andhra Pradesh.’’ In a letter to the chief minister, Narayan recalled that the union government was committed to bearing the entire capital cost and reimbursing a substantial part of the running costs of the courts.
Setting up a court costs around Rs 18 lakh and its annual maintenance Rs 6.4 lakh. Since the union law minister had announced an allocation of Rs 400 crore for setting up courts across the country this year, the state should send proposals to the union government for financial assistance, he said.
The LSP president requested the chief minister to make budgetary allocations and provide infrastructure for the courts and approach the High Court on the framing of rules and appointment of judges. He marked a copy of the letter to the chief justice of the High Court, the governor and the state law minister.
–Agencies