Nagireddypalle, a nondescript village in Prakasam district has set a record of sorts with the State Legal Services Authority(SLSA) declaring it as a litigation-free village.

The people of the sleepy village in Konakanamitla(K.K.Mitla) mandal, where agriculture is the main occupation, are worth emulating by their counterparts elsewhere in the country where lakhs of cases are pending in courts at different levels, costing time and money for the litigants.

The village elders including Gram Sarpanch B.Acheswaramma sit on the village square(Rachabanda) and hear the grievances of the public periodically in a cordial atmosphere in the village with a population of over 1000 people. “Shedding ego, we settle minor disputes including those relating to sharing of water, land boundaries and other matters in a spirit of give-and-take,” Mandal Praja Parishad member Udumala Ramanarayana Reddy told The Hindu.

No criminal case had been registered in the village in the last five years, K.K.Mitla Sub-Inspector Brahma Naidu said.

“As per revenue records, not a single revenue-related case is pending in the village,” K.K.Mitla Mandal Revenue Officer M. Jwala Narasimham said. No civil cases are pending too, he added.

The villagers efforts gave an impetus to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method articulated by the SLSA to help people settle their differences amicably, observed District Legal Services Authoritiy Chairman and Principal District Judge K.V.Vijaykumar.

Shedding ego, we settle disputes in a spirit of give-and-take.

Udumala Ramanarayana Reddy ,Mandal Praja Parishad member

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / Staff Reporter / Ongole – April 18th, 2016