Kolkata, July 25 -- Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, TS Sivagnanam on Friday credited Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's "benevolent sanction of funds" for enabling several court infrastructure projects across the state in the past one and a half years.

Speaking at the inauguration of a new six-storey court complex at Howrah, the Chief Justice said that multiple district court projects were completed during his tenure owing to the consistent support from the state government and Law minister Moloy Ghatak.

Ghatak, present at the ceremony, cited the construction of court buildings at Alipurduar (Rs 64.17 crore), Jhargram (Rs 71.96 crore), and Asansol (Rs 12.65 crore), along with additional renovation and construction efforts undertaken since 2011.

The newly-inaugurated building in Howrah will serve as an extension to the already congested court complex. A second phase is also planned, expected to be completed in the next two years.

The estimated project cost, according to the sanctioned plan of 2019, includes over Rs 17 crore for civil work, around Rs 6 crore for electricals and nearly Rs 2 crore for IT infrastructure.

The Chief Justice appealed to the legal fraternity to keep the premises clean and free from encroachments and posters, especially during bar elections, to maintain the

facility's integrity.

Highlighting the state's improvement in Lok Adalat performance - rising from 23rd to 3rd position in case disposal nationally-CJ Sivagnanam encouraged active participation in the ongoing 'Mediation for the

Nation' campaign.

He noted that legal aid defence counsel systems had been implemented across all districts and permanent structures would be established soon. The CJ also stressed the importance of data collection and case referrals for mediation by July 31.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.