Nitish Kumar to resume people’s court

PATNA - Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to resume his popular ‘janata durbar’ (people’s court) this month to listen to the grievances of people, an official said Wednesday.

“After a gap of several months due to the state assembly polls, Nitish Kumar has decided to resume the janata durbar. He is likely to hold the first durbar in his second term as chief minister Dec 20,” an official at the chief minister office here told IANS.

The durbar was discontinued in July in view of the model code of conduct for the assembly polls and remained suspended during the Oct 21-Nov 20 election.

According to officials, the janata durbar will be resumed with some changes to provide more help to people and make it more transparent.

“Some top officials have been working to ensure action on the applications submitted by people to chief minister at the janata durbar,” an official said.

Widely seen as the brainchild of Nitish Kumar, it was launched in April 2006 - about five months after he first came to power.

The programme was an instant hit with hundreds of people from different parts of the state, particularly the rural areas, thronging to it in the hope their grievances would be personally heard by the chief minister.

Nitish Kumar ordered officials concerned, particularly the police, to take action immediately for assuring justice to the people.

Encouraged by the response to the initiative at Patna, Nitish Kumar also held janata durbars at the district headquarters.

A senior ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislator considered close to Nitish Kumar said the people’s grievances were an

eye-opener for the government.

“The chief minister admitted to party leaders that it helped him to know not only the problems of the common people but also to know the progress of government-sponsored development and welfare schemes,” he said.