Question : Gram Nayayalayas

(a) whether Gram Nayayalayas have been established to provide speedy, effective and easy justice to the people and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Central Government has requested States and High Courts for establishment of Gram Nayayalayas in the respective States;
(c) if so, the number of States / UTs that have established and operationalised Gram Nayayalayas;
(d) the details of financial assistance provided to each State Government and Union Territory during the last three years and the current year for setting up of Gram Nayayalayas;
(e) whether the delivery of justice through Gram Nayayalayas is faster than ordinary courts and if so, the details thereof; and
(f) the time by which Gram Nayayalayas are likely to be functional in all the States?

ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a) to (c): To provide access to justice to the citizens at their door steps, the Central Government has enacted the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008. It provides for establishment of Gram Nyayalayas at intermediate panchayat level. The State Governments are responsible for establishing Gram Nyayalayas in consultation with the respective High Courts. As per information made available by State Governments / High Courts, 353 Gram Nyayalayas have been notified so far by 11 States. Out of these, 213 are operational in 9 States at present.

The Central Government has requested the Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of High Courts for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas in the respective States. Registrars General of High Courts and Law / Home / Finance Secretaries of State Governments were requested through video conferences held in January 2018, July 2018 and November, 2018, to set up Gram Nyayalayas and seek financial assistance for operationalising them under the Scheme mentioned above.

(d) : The Central Government has been encouraging the States to set up Gram Nyayalayas by providing financial assistance. As per the scheme for assistance to State Governments for establishing and operating Gram Nyayalayas, the Central Government provides one-time assistance to States towards non-recurring expenses for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas subject to a ceiling of Rs. 18.00 lakhs per Gram Nyayalaya. The Central Government also provides assistance towards recurring expenses for operating these Gram Nyayalayas subject to a ceiling of Rs. 3.20 lakhs per Gram Nyayalaya per year for the first three years.

The financial assistance provided to State Governments during last three years for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas are as under:
S No State 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19
1 Maharashtra 0.00 79.00 0.00
2. Uttar Pradesh 500.00 346.00 349.78
3. Kerala 0.00 375.00 450.22
Total 500.00 800.00
800.00

(Rs. in lakh)






No financial assistance has been provided to any State so far, during current financial year (2019-20).

(e) & (f): The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide access to justice to the citizens at their door steps. The issues affecting operationalization of the Gram Nyayalayas were discussed in the Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of the States on 7th April, 2013. It was decided in the Conference that the State Governments and High Courts should decide the question of setting up of Gram Nyayalayas wherever feasible, taking into account the local issues and situation. It is, therefore, upto State Governments and High Courts to set up Gram Nyayalayas accordingly.