The initiative of the National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa) in delivering justice to the common man on his doorstep has turned into a boon for the downtrodden sections. Thanks to the visits of judges and advocates in rural areas to resolve the public issues with the support of government machinery.
Usually, people move around knocking at the doors of government offices such as revenue, civil supplies, medical and health to get their grievances resolved.
Their problems hardly get resolved immediately. However, they can get services from government offices with the direct involvement of judges who act as secretaries of District Legal Services Authorities.
According to Srikakulam District Legal Services Authority chairperson V.B. Nirmala Geethamba and Secretary Mary Grace Kumari, the Union government had introduced many new Acts to benefit the common people. However, these benefits were denied due to lack of awareness among the officials and government staff and practical difficulties.
To avoid this, Nalsa has asked legal services authorities in the districts to approach the people directly and conduct surprise inspections to study the services such as drinking water, drainage, roads and other issues. After observing them, the judges can speak to the officials concerned and resolve the issues immediately.
Recently, a team of the Srikakulam Legal Services Authority visited Pedarama village of Sithampet and Derasam village of Ranasthalam mandal. They observed that many eligible persons were denied pensions and government benefits. “We spoke to the mandal-level officials concerned and resolved their grievances on the spot. We also listen to the genuine difficulties of the officials and give sufficient time to ensure justice for the common people,” said Mrs. Mary Grace Kumari.
Help of NGOs sought
“We took the help from nongovernmental organisations too in identify the problems in advance so that the issues can be handled on the spot in an organized manner. We also conduct interactive sessions with officials in advance to enable them to know about their new responsibilities,” she added.
Srikakulam DLSA member Indira Prasad, senior advocate Jallu Tirupati Rao said that it was nothing but delivering justice on the doorsteps of the people. “Visits of senior judges in the villages would certainly act as a deterrent and make officials to resolve the people’s problems quickly,” they added.
