2477 village courts of Bihar do not have their own buildings, the government is spending Rs 3.25 crore annually on rent.

Patna. In Bihar, 2477 village courts which are in regular existence since 2006 do not have their own buildings. The disputes arising at the local level are settled through the judicial benches of these village courts. For the last 17 years, the government has been running these courts in rented houses. For this, Rs 3.25 crore has to be paid annually as rent. To run the village courts formed at the Panchayat level along with the three-tier Gram Panchayats, Sarpanch and Panch are running the courts in rented buildings. The state government has given approval to construct Panchayat government buildings in every Panchayat to run the Gram Panchayat and Village Courts.

Approval for construction of Panchayat government buildings in eight thousand Gram Panchayats

by the government in all the states Approval for construction of Panchayat government buildings in eight thousand Gram Panchayats Has been given. In these Panchayat Government buildings, a court room for village courts, an office for all the employees including the Sarpanch are to be constructed. Even after approval, about 1500 Panchayat government buildings have been constructed across the state. In such a situation, until Panchayat government buildings are constructed in all the gram panchayats, offices for the village courts will not be available in the government buildings. Till now, the highest number of hired village courts in the state, 167, is in East Champaran district.

More than a hundred village courts in rented houses

There are many districts in Bihar where more than a hundred village courts are being run in rented houses. These include 147 in Darbhanga district, 146 in Patna district, 135 in Katihar district, 104 in Araria, 135 in Katihar, 108 in Muzaffarpur, 111 in Nawada, 136 in Siwan, 104 in West Champaran, 112 in Nalanda and 124 villages in Vaishali district. Courts are included. Apart from this, 36 in Arwal district, 41 in Bhagalpur, 19 in Gopalganj, 68 in Jamui, 35 in Jehanabad, 18 in Kishanganj, 35 in Madhepura, 98 in Madhubani, 59 in Munger, 43 in Purnia, 42 in Rohtas, 49 in Saharsa. , 95 in Samastipur, 12 in Sheikhpura, 33 in Sheohar, 50 in Sitamarhi, 50 in Saran, 38 in Begusarai, 26 in Khagaria, 19 in Banka, 60 in Aurangabad, 21 in Supaul, 37 in Lakhisarai, 71 in Buxar and Kaimur. In 28 villages, the benches of the courts are run in rented houses.

Six months rent Rs 1 crore 63 lakh

For the operation of these village courts, the state government has released Rs 1 crore 63 lakh as rent for six months at the rate of Rs 1,000 per village court. For the operation of village courts, the minimum carpet area of ​​a rented house has been fixed at eight hundred square feet.