Dialogue and Community Mediation Resolve 769 Disputes Across 330 Villages in Devipatan

Administrative officials in Uttar Pradesh’s Devipatan division are resolving rural disputes through dialogue, community mediation and mutual consent under the ‘Litigation-Free Devipatan: Dialogue for Resolution’ campaign. Of the 500 villages selected across the division, 330 have so far been declared litigation-free, with 769 disputes resolved through dialogue and mutual agreement. The campaign is being implemented across 16 tehsils in Gonda, Bahraich, Balrampur and Shravasti under Divisional Commissioner Durga Shakti Nagpal.

A five-member community mediation committee has been constituted in each selected village to facilitate the process. The committees comprise the lekhpal, panchayat secretary, gram pradhan, a woman representative and a senior village member, who hear the parties and attempt to resolve disputes through mutual consent. Mediation centres have also been established at gram panchayat buildings or other public locations, with naib tehsildars or tehsildars designated as nodal officers to supervise and monitor the process. The disputes being taken up include matters concerning village pathways and access routes, drainage, partition of property, inheritance and land boundaries.

According to the divisional administration, 109 villages in Bahraich, 86 in Balrampur, 82 in Gonda and 53 in Shravasti have been declared litigation-free so far. The campaign is continuing in the remaining selected villages, with the administration aiming to extend the process across all 500 villages identified under the initiative.