Govt plans multistoried residential complexes for judicial officers

The government has taken an initiative to construct multistoried residential complexes for judicial officers in all 64 districts and eight metropolitan cities to address their housing crisis.

The complexes are planned to be 10 to 15 stories high, depending on the location, according to a PID handout.

The Law and Justice Division under the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has instructed district and sessions judges to identify suitable sites and submit spatial layouts and necessary information for construction of the buildings.

The Planning Unit of the Law and Justice Division issued a letter in this regard on September 2.

According to the letter, around 30 to 50 judges of different ranks are currently working in civil and criminal courts and various special tribunals in each district.

However, except in a few districts, there are no adequate or integrated government residential facilities for judges in most districts.

As a result, most judges have to live in rented houses, which, according to the letter, poses security risks to the judges and their families because of the sensitive nature of the cases they handle.

The Law and Justice Division said adequate land is available in many places under district judgeships for construction of residential buildings.

It said constructing modern 10 to 15-storey residential complexes in each district and metropolitan city would not only help resolve the existing housing crisis but also meet increased demand in the future through optimum use of available land.

The letter also said it would be easier to ensure CCTV surveillance, designated entry points and round-the-clock armed police security at such centralised residential complexes.

The buildings are planned under a project titled “Construction of Residential Buildings for Judicial Officers in 64 Districts and 8 Metropolitan Cities.”

Under the project, district and sessions judges have been asked to provide details and spatial layouts showing the amount of land available at court premises, or at old court and Munsif court premises under their jurisdiction.

If sufficient land is not available on court premises, they have also been asked to suggest potential sites within one kilometre of the district judge court building where land could be acquired if necessary.

The executive engineers of the Public Works Department in the respective districts have also been asked to take necessary steps to conduct digital surveys of the selected sites.