Current Affair 1:

Concept of Lok Adalats

 

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably.

Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.

If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.

 

The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role; therefore, they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or matters either directly or indirectly.

The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties.

Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat

1. Any case pending before any court.

2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of -

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

National Lok Adalats are organized simultaneously in all Taluks, Districts and High Courts on a pre-fixed date.

Current Affair 2:

Convening of Lok Sabha- Small report.

 

The Winter Session of Parliament began on 07 December 2022. This would be the 10th Session of the current 17th Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha, which is a Permanent body will be convening for its 258th session.  The session is scheduled to be held till 29 December 2022, with a total of 17 working days.

 

The first Lok Sabha was constituted on 02 April 1952. It was dissolved on 04 April 1957. During this period, the Lok Sabha actually convened for a total of 677 days across 15 sessions. This is also the greatest number of days that Lok Sabha has convened in a term.

This is followed by the Fifth Lok Sabha, which conducted business for 613 days but across 18 sessions. The 5th Lok Sabha was constituted on 15 March 1971 and dissolved on 18 January 1977. The 21-month emergency from 1975 to 1977 was during the tenure of the 5th Lok Sabha.

Parliament was in session for the least number of days during Twelfth Lok Sabha. It convened for 88 days across 4 sessions. It ought to be noted that the 12th Lok Sabha did not complete its 5-year term. It was constituted on 10 March 1998 and dissolved on 26 April 1999 after the ruling NDA government lost its majority.

This was the second consecutive Lok Sabha, which did not complete its term. The earlier Lok Sabha i.e., the 11th Lok Sabha lasted for around 18 months. Lok Sabha was in session for 125 days across 6 sessions in the 11th Lok Sabha. It must be noted that the 4th, 6th & 9th Lok Sabha terms also did not complete their full five-year term. 

 

Current Affair 3:

Sand Mining Framework

 

Sand is a minor mineral under Section 3(e) of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act).

Section 15 of the MMDR Act empowers the State Governments for making rules for regulating the grant of quarry leases, mining leases or other mineral concessions in respect of minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith. Hence, the regulation of minor minerals comes under the legislative and administrative domain of the State Governments.

Further, Section 23C of the MMDR Act empowers the State Governments to make rules for preventing illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals and for the purposes connected therewith. Hence, control of illegal mining comes under the legislative and administrative purview of the State Governments.

However, the Ministry of Mines has prepared a ‘Sand Mining Framework’ in consultation with  Mining Departments of the States incorporating best practices amongst States with the objectives of sustainability, availability, affordability, and transparency in sand mining.

The ‘Sand Mining Framework’ has been circulated to all the State Governments for necessary action. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has issued Sustainable Sand Mining Management Guidelines, 2016, which, inter-alia, addresses the issues relating to the regulation of sand mining.

Current Affair 4:

Per Capita Water Availability

 

Based on the study titled “Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs, 2019” conducted by Central Water Commission, the average annual per capita water availability for year 2021 and 2031 has been assessed as 1486 cubic meter and 1367 cubic meter respectively. Annual per-capita water availability of less than 1700 cubic meter is considered as water stressed condition whereas annual per-capita water availability below 1000 cubic meters is considered as a water scarcity condition.

Water being a state subject, steps for augmentation, conservation and efficient management of water resources are primarily undertaken by the respective State Governments. In order to supplement the efforts of the State Governments, Central Government provides technical and financial assistance to them through various schemes and programmes.

 

 

Something more form the Article:

Government of India, in partnership with State, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to make provision of tap water supply to every rural household of the country by 2024.

Government of India has launched AMRUT 2.0 on 1st October, 2021, covering all the statutory towns of the country to ensure universal coverage of water supply & make cities ‘water secure’.

To ensure optimum utilization of water, Government of India has been implementing Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojna (PMKSY) from 2015-16 onwards. Under PMKSY-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). The extension of PMKSY for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 has been approved by Government of India, with an overall outlay of Rs. 93,068.56 crore.

The Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) Programme has been brought under PMKSY - Har Khet Ko Pani from 2015-16 onwards. The main objective of taking up CAD works is to enhance utilisation of irrigation potential created, and improve agriculture production on a sustainable basis through Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM).

The Bureau of Water Use Efficiency (BWUE) has been set up for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, industrial and domestic sector. The Bureau will be a facilitator for promotion of improving water use efficiency across various sectors namely irrigation, drinking water supply, power generation, industries, etc. in the country.

“Sahi Fasal” campaign was launched to nudge farmers in the water stressed areas to grow crops which are not water intensive, but use water very efficiently; and are economically remunerative; are healthy and nutritious; suited to the agro-climatic-hydro characteristics of the area; and are environmentally friendly.

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