The Left Front government has still not been able to appoint judges to the tribunal it set up in 1999 under the West Bengal Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal Act, 1997. The result: while the tribunal was to have four benches, the fourth bench was never constituted and the second and the third bench have been closed down for the last eight days for dearth of judges.

The tribunal, which settles land disputes, now has only one bench to try a staggering 80,000 cases.

A notice issued on January 9 by Arjun Gupta, registrar of the tribunal, declared: “The second and the third bench will not sit on and from 9th January, 2009 for want of judicial and administrative members until further notice.”

A bench consists of a judicial member, usually a retired High Court judge, and an administrative member who is usually a retired bureaucrat of the joint secretary level.

Of the 80,000 cases pending in the tribunal, 10,000 are writ petitions, 20,000 transfer cases and 50,000 are original applications.

“This government claims they protect the interest of the farmers and other poor people. I have to come all the way from Mathabhanga but my case has been pending there for six months. This government is so indifferent,” Rehman rued.

The tribunal officials say the fourth bench has never functioned. “From the very beginning, the fourth bench never functioned. Even the third bench remained largely shut. And now the tribunal has only one bench. There are even 40-year-old cases pending there (cases transferred from the High Court). This government just does not care,” an official told The Indian Express.