Gandhinagar, Sep 22 (IANS) Gujarat will launch ‘Nari Adalats’ at the Gram Panchayat level on a pilot basis in 10 tribal districts, extending the women-centric grievance redressal mechanism from the district and taluka levels to villages.
The initiative, being taken up under the Centre’s ‘Mission Shakti’ scheme, will see all 10 selected Gram Panchayats led by women Sarpanches.
The move is aimed at providing women with a local platform to raise their concerns and seek solutions closer to their homes.
The Union government describes Nari Adalats under ‘Mission Shakti’ as an alternative grievance redressal mechanism at the Gram Panchayat level, using negotiation, mediation and reconciliation with mutual consent.
The state government said the pilot follows the successful functioning of Nari Adalats at the district and taluka levels.
Around 270 Nari Adalats are currently functioning across the state and have received about 45,000 cases so far, of which around 44,800, or more than 99 per cent, have been resolved or settled.
The initiative is being implemented under the guidance of Women and Child Development Minister Manisha Vakil.
The Gujarat State Commission for Women had proposed 10 Gram Panchayats for the pilot, following which the state government formally selected them.
The selected Gram Panchayats are Garudeshwar and Chikda in Narmada district; Singvad, Limdi and Kaliya in Dahod; Kothamba in Mahisagar; Kadwal in Chhota Udepur; Radhanesda in Vav-Tharad; Shamalpur in Aravalli; and Jalotra in Banaskantha.
The state government has given priority to tribal districts in the selection, with the stated aim of ensuring that women in rural and tribal areas have access to a local mechanism for addressing their grievances.
All 10 selected Panchayats are led by women Sarpanches. They are Sarojben Babubhai Vasava in Garudeshwar, Lataben Mahendra Vasava in Chikda, Lakhi Balubhai Vahonia in Singvad, Sheela Vijaykumar Mori in Limdi, Pushpa Bhavin Machhar in Kaliya, Nita Vishalkumar Patel in Kothamba, Ujli Hamsingh Rathwa in Kadwal, Laxmi Devji Koli in Radhanesda, Sangeeta Mahendra Patel in Shamalpur and Galbi Mahesh Chaudhary in Jalotra.
The state government said bringing the Nari Adalat mechanism together with women-led Panchayats would provide a village-level platform for hearing women’s issues and facilitating their resolution.
Gujarat has had an institutional framework for Nari Adalats at the state, district and taluka levels for several years.
A state government resolution envisages Nari Adalats as an alternative justice mechanism intended to provide women with accessible and low-cost avenues for grievance redressal.
The state government said the experience of the 10 Gram Panchayats selected for the pilot would be assessed and could help guide the future implementation of the initiative at the rural level.
–IANS
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