Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday appealed to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to allocate funds “liberally to strengthen the lower judiciary” in the state, PTI reported. He said the funds would help provide speedy justice to the litigants.
“We [the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal (United)] have come together,” Kumar said at a function in Patna. “It must also reflect [in the allocation of funds]. Bihar is a big state with 38 districts and 101 sub-divisions and you [Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad] are saying Rs 50 to 70 crore will be allocated to it to strengthen the judiciary. This is not enough.”
Urging the Centre for liberal allocation of funds, Kumar said that Bihar’s budget, which was around Rs 25,000 crore in 2005, was now Rs 1.40 lakh crore. He added that his government had already sanctioned Rs 169 crore for expanding the Patna High Court.
Kumar was talking at the launch of the ‘Tele Law: Mainstreaming Legal Aid Through Common Service Centre’ scheme, which helps villagers access legal services with the help of the paralegal volunteers.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was present on the occasion, said, “Bihar has been given Rs 50 crore in 2016-17 for strengthening the subordinate judiciary. I will increase it to Rs 60-70 crore the next time, provided a utilisation certificate is furnished by the authority concerned.” He added that he was happy that the Tele Law scheme had been launched after the JD(U) and the BJP joined hands to form a government.
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