(a) the details of initiatives taken under the project “Tele Law Scheme ,New Legal Aid and Empowerment Initiatives” in various States during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise;
(b) the action taken with regard to improving the institutional capacities of justice service providers, State-wise; and
(c) the outcomes of the scheme, State-wise, including the State of Uttar Pradesh?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)
(a) Under Access to Justice scheme of Department of Justice, Tele-Law Programme has been functioning since 2017 in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and North-Eastern States that include Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in co-operation with Common Service centers (CSCs). Initially free legal advice was given through 1800 CSCs for the persons entitled for free legal aid under section 12 of Legal Services Authorities, Act 1987, and others with Rs. 30/- per consultation as payment through panel lawyers via video conferencing and telephone facilities, available through CSCs at Panchayat Level. The programme has since been expanded to 115 Aspirational Districts in the country, thus covering total number of 29860 CSCs at present.
(b) to (c) To improve the institutional capacities of justice service providers, State-wise, Department of Justice with the help of CSC e- Governance Services India limited (CSC e-Gov) and National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is providing periodical trainings to Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs), Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) and Panel Lawyers(PLs). Under the Tele-Law Scheme, 180482 cases have been registered and in 171348 cases, legal advice has been provided including beneficiaries from the State of Uttar Pradesh as on 29th February, 2020.