Case Study of the Day: Rajasthan’s Law Reform Project – Minimum Government and Maximum Governance

Context: The Rajasthan Government started a Law Reforms Project in 2015, with an objective to improve the Governance in the state.

About Rajasthan’s Law Reforms Project

• The prior situation that demanded Law Reforms:
  • Government of India repealed 1175 obsolete Acts in 2015, which set a precedent to states in India.
  • Rajasthan had about 592 Acts in 2015, with the last Act being repealed in 1962.
  • Multiple Acts were in force for identical subjects, with the Education & Revenue department having more than 70 Acts each.
• Rajasthan Government took to Law Reforms in following stages:
  • Project includes four phases – repealing, consolidating, examining relevance and putting laws online.
  • Rajasthan Laws Repealing Bill 2015 was passed after consultation from various departments, which resulted in repeal of 248 Acts.
  • Government has identified 9 departments with the most consolidation impact and has begun internal department reviews, to further bring down the number of acts.
• The Impact of the Move:
  • Reduction in suspicion and consequent increase in the trust between citizens and lawmakers, which has lead to a reduction in transmission losses between how laws are written, interpreted, practiced and enforced.
  • Lesser legislation means less corruption, nepotism and judicial intervention.
  • Further over time, it will unclog the courts and reduce pendency.

Conclusion

• Thus, the dialogue between departments, empathy towards citizens, legislative balance, leadership positivity and massive coordination can bring about impactful changes.
• Hence, there is a need for other states to seek inspiration from such initiatives, to ensure ‘Minimum Government and Maximum Governance‘.

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