NLSIU Announces Project for the Second Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission
December 11, 2021
NLSIU is undertaking a short-term research project for the Second Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission (KARC-2) to review the efficacy and implementation of the Karnataka State Dispute Resolution Policy. The Commission is constituted by the Government of Karnataka. Sri. T.M Vijay Bhaskar IAS (Retd.), former Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka, has been appointed as its Chairman.
About the Project
KARC-2 will be responsible for:
- Studying current administrative processes in the Karnataka State government across various government departments, government-owned corporations, boards and authorities
- Suggesting recommendations for administrative reforms considering the major changes in government structure and functioning and available programmes and schemes and having due regard to citizens expectations and major technological changes that have occurred in the country
Focus Areas
The project will generate original research in the form of a research report and policy briefs that can help administrative processes to be optimised and create accountable and effective institutions. The research team will identify specific measures in the State’s dispute resolution policy, estimate the effect of these measures on litigation dockets and analyse reasons why these dockets have grown despite policy intervention. A key goal of the project is to make specific recommendations to the KARC-2 on measures that need to be taken for smoother implementation of Karnataka State’s dispute resolution policy.
Research Objectives
The six-month project is aimed at advancing public understanding of the functioning of government bodies in the state and proposing reform measures to improve the delivery of public services. It is designed as an empirically driven, doctrinal study where researchers conduct quantitative analysis of available data, qualitative analysis of sample cases, ethnographic participant observation and build detailed and sustained engagement with key decision-makers and actors responsible for delivering outcomes.
Research Team
Varsha Aithala is a Menon Scholar and researcher at NLSIU. Alongside pursuing her PhD, she currently teaches an elective course titled ‘Impact, Innovation and Investment’ to the students of the Master of Public Policy programme at NLSIU. She also works closely with the university’s Law, Technology and Society cluster. She is a graduate of the BA LLB (Hons) Programme at NALSAR University of Law and earned a Master’s degree in Corporate Law at the University of Cambridge.
Ashwini Obulesh (NLS BA LLB 2013) is currently pursuing her LLM at NLSIU. As a practicing lawyer, she has been actively involved in cases in the areas of service law, family law, education law, election law and land law. She previously worked with Samvad Partners in their Mumbai and Bengaluru offices, before joining the litigation offices of Senior Advocate and Former Advocate General, Karnataka, Prof. Ravivarma Kumar. She has also recently started Dhwani Legal Trust, an organisation that aspires to provide legal aid to all.
Laksha Kalappa is an advocate practicing before the High Court of Karnataka and trial courts in Bengaluru. Her focus areas are civil and commercial litigation, including, contractual disputes, intellectual property rights disputes, land laws, labour laws and service disputes and consumer disputes. She has worked for more than six years as an Associate and then as Senior Associate with the litigation teams at King & Partridge and Dua Associates, Bengaluru. She has a master’s degree from Azim Premji University, Bengaluru and a bachelor’s degree in law from University Law College, Bangalore University.