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Given the powerlessness of the
poor and their vulnerability to social and economic injustice within
the local power structure, the poor are engaged in a variety of
disputes. The NHDR/PIDE Survey 2001 has investigated the frequency and
type of disputes for various income classes of the poor and the cost
of mediation as well as the rate of successful resolution.
The highest frequency of reported disputes occurs in the case of the
poor, while the extremely poor, perhaps due to their acutely
constrained economic circumstances, are often not prepared to take on
the burden of a dispute. Their disputes as a percentage of the total
disputes is 17.1%, with the figure for the non-poor being 34.2%. In
the relatively few cases where the extremely poor do engage in
disputes, the cost of mediation (Rs.18,333) places a crippling burden
on them since it is more than their annual household income. Yet
inspite of having spent such a large amount of money, usually by
taking out loans or selling whatever few assets they have, the
percentage of successful resolution of disputes in the case of the
extremely poor is the lowest amongst the three income classes (38.5%).
In the case of the non-poor, the percentage of reported disputes
resolved is much higher at (80.8%) indicating the role of their
relatively greater social influence in dispute resolution.
The greatest proportion of disputes related with money/credit
occurs in the case of the poor (61.2%) and to a much lesser extent in
the other two income classes, being 22.2% for the extremely poor and
16.7% for the non-poor. In the case of land disputes, again the
highest proportion occurs in the case of the poor (42.9%) with the
extremely poor also facing a substantial proportion of land disputes
(21.4%). In disputes related with honour or “loss of face”, again the
greatest percentage occurs amongst the poor (47.1%) with the figure in
the case of the extremely poor being 17.6%, and in the case of the
non-poor being 35.3%.
In all the three income classes, the poor by and large tend
to avoid involving the police. This is indicative not only of the
perceived inefficiency of the police in handling disputes, but also
the danger of harassment by them. This is quite apart from the bribe
money that has to be paid to register and pursue a case with the
police, whether it is theft, violence or kidnapping. The extremely
poor involve police in only 1% of the disputes, the poor to the extent
of 2.8% and the non-poor to the extent of 4.9%. The relatively low
involvement of police in the disputes of the poor is explained to some
extent by the fact that a relatively large amount of bribe money has
to be paid to the police just to register a case. |
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In the relatively few cases where the extremely poor do engage in
disputes, the cost of mediation (Rs.18,333) places a crippling burden
on them since it is more than their annual household income |
In the case of extremely poor the bribe money paid to police, in cases
where it was involved was Rs.16,171/-, in the case of the poor, it was
Rs.14,517/- and in the case of the non-poor, it was Rs.35,558/-
* NHDR 2003, Page
68-69
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