The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to provide training to village heads (gram pradhans), particularly women, within the next three months.
This training aims to empower them and ensure they are fully aware of their rights and duties.
Insights
The court emphasized the need to discourage the growing trend of ‘Pradhanpati’ (husbands of women village heads) taking over their wives’ official responsibilities.
The court also directed state officials to ensure that any public land of the gram sabha used for other public welfare projects must done with the consent of the local villagers.
This would help prevent unnecessary legal challenges and reduce the number of cases brought to the High Court related to public land use for community projects.
In a case concerning the construction of a water tank and RCC center on land designated for grazing and threshing in a village in Ghazipur, the court acknowledged the public benefit of the project.
The court advised shifting the construction to one side of the designated land if it has not yet started.
The state government argued that the construction on a small portion of grazing land would not change its primary use or grant anyone proprietary rights over it.
The court agreed, stating that the villagers can still use the land for activities like weddings or sports, ensuring its utility remains intact.
In addition, the court ordered that any encroachment on the land by the village head or their family must be dealt with within a month.
This ruling came as the court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Ambika Yadav and several others, who had objected to the construction without following proper legal procedures.
Additionally, they claimed the project was altering the land’s nature, but the government clarified it was using only 42 square meters out of 4,550 for the project.
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