SC issues notice to HCs on plea for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas'
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from all high courts on a 2019 plea seeking a direction to the Centre and all states for taking steps to set up Gram Nyayalayas' under the supervision of the top court.
A bench of Justices S A Nazeer and V Ramasubramanian issued notices to the registrar general of all high courts and made them parties in the case.
The top court said the high courts should be made party as they are the supervisory authority.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner NGO National Federation of Societies for Fast Justice and others, submitted before the bench that despite a direction from the top court in 2020, many states have yet not taken any action.
These Gram Nyayalayas' should be such that people may be able to articulate their grievances without the need of lawyer, Bhushan said.
The matter is now posted for next hearing on December 5.
The apex court in 2020 had directed the states, which are yet to come out with notifications for establishing Gram Nyayalayas', to do so within four weeks, and asked the high courts to expedite the process of consultation with state governments on this issue.
An Act passed by Parliament in 2008 provided for the setting up of Gram Nyayalayas' at the grassroots level for providing access to justice to citizens at the doorstep and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to anyone by reason of social, economic or other disabilities.
The plea had said that sections 5 and 6 of the 2008 Act provide that state government in consultation with the high court will appoint a Nyayadhikari' for each Gram Nyayalaya', who will be a person eligible to be appointed as a judicial magistrate of the First Class.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
