Almost 73 per cent of the Rs.5,011 crore budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Law and Justice for the current financial year has been earmarked for election-related expenses.
According to the Financial and Outcome Budget released by the Law Ministry, it has been allocated about Rs.4,112 crore under the non-plan and Rs.900 crore under the plan revenue heads.
The Organs of State Elections have been granted Rs.3,649.29 crore. While Rs.1,761.43 crore is given for Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in States or Union Territories, Rs. 1,847.86 crore has been earmarked for other election-related expenses.
This financial year, the government has to spend Rs.40 crore for the issuance of voter identity cards.
The budget also provides Rs. 140 crore for the National Legal Services Authority, which extends free legal services to the weaker sections and also organises Lok Adalats for dispute settlement.
The income tax appellate and national tax tribunals have been allocated Rs. 73.48 crore.
The Law Ministry has been given Rs. 256 crore for the implementation of the e-courts’ second phase.
In the first phase, sites for all the 14,249 courts have been readied for computerisation and local-area networks installed at 13,643 courts.
‘Access to Justice’ project
The “Access to Justice” project is being implemented in the eight North-Eastern States, and Jammu and Kashmir, at a total cost of Rs.30 crore for five years (2012-17).
“The objectives of the project are to address the legal needs of the marginalised and vulnerable sections of society, particularly women, children, and Scheduled Castes and tribal communities, who do not have the requisite means to ensure that their rights are guaranteed,” according to the Outcome Budget.
It also aims at supporting justice delivery systems in improving their capacities in order to serve the people, in empowering ordinary people to demand improved services, and to access their rights and entitlements, besides encouraging innovative activities to enhance legal awareness of vulnerable populations, and their ability to seek redress.
The Department of Justice has been implementing “Access to Justice for Marginalised People” with the UNDP’s support. The first phase of the project (2009-2012) focused on both the demand as well as supply side of justice, and has reached out to two million people, apart from training 7,000 paralegals and young lawyers.
