In dispute redressal, Pune tops district chart

According to the records of Mahatma Gandhi Tantamukt Gram Samitis,the dispute redressal forums at village level,from August 2009 to April 2010,Pune had 68,000 disputes,of which 34,000 were resolved by the villagers.

Interestingly,of the cases resolved through the dispute redressal system,maximum number of cases were of criminal nature. Nearly 80-90 per cent cases were of criminal nature. Revenue related cases and land disputes also came up in the dispute redressal samitis. The number of civil and revenue cases resolved between August 2009 and April 2010 was 4,500 and 1,200 respectively.

According to officials,to ensure that the villages were free of disputes,they have given the task of resolving the disputes to the samitis. Those villages which have been able to achieve the target of resolving 90 per cent of criminal cases in a year,80 per cent of revenue disputes and 70 per cent of civil disputes are being declared as dispute-free. On April 30 this year,the district collectorate designated 86 villages as dispute free,based on their performance from August 2009 to April 2010.

The village dispute redressal system through the Mahatma Gandhi Tantamukht Samiti’s is a huge success in Pune villages. It has reduced the burden on courts even since it was introduced in 2007,” said Dalvi.

The samitis are headed by a chairman selected by local gram sabha and have 35 members selected by the sabha. “What is important about the dispute redressal through these samitis is that the court cases which are pending and later taken up by these samitis are resolved through compromise between the parties.

However,the compromise reached has to be ratified by the court in which the case is pending. The court issues an order confirming the decision of the samiti. These samitis not only resolve non-cognisable offences,but even the bailable congisable offences,” said Dalvi.

In order to make these samiti’s more effective and vibrant,the collectorate is revising the targets for the declaration of dispute free villages. “This year,we hope to reach a target of 900 dispute free villages. We are constantly reviewing the progress of the village level samitis. The members of the samitis go house to house,search and list the cases which are to be resolved. We motivate the heads of these samitis to increase their house to house searches and also launch special campaigns to check excessive consumption of liquor and activities like gambling,” said Dalvi.

Following the disputes
86villages in Pune declared dispute free
68,000disputes in Pune from Aug ‘09 to April ‘10
34,000disputes resolved by villagers
80%-90% cases were of criminal nature
4,500were civil cases
1,200were revenue related cases