Lok Sabha Question No. 5052 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-24
Subject: Performance of Schemes Launched
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Dhanush M Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

******

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5052

TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 24 TH JULY, 2019

## Performance of Schemes Launched

## 5052.  SHRI DHANUSH  M. KUMAR:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state?

- (a) the year-wise details of the schemes launched by the Government under the Ministry during the last three years alongwith the details of the targets set and the achievements made under each of the said schemes ;
- (b)  the  details  of  the  proposals  received  from  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu alongwith  the  proposals  approved  by  the  Union  Government  under these schemes; and
- (c) the scheme and State-wise details of the funds allocated and utilized for implementation of various schemes of this Ministry during each of the last three years and the current year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW & JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS, ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAVISHANKAR PRASAD)

- (a) Department  of  Justice,  Ministry  of  Law  and  Justice  has  launched  the following  three  programmes  in  2017  under  the  Mission  Mode  projectNational Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms:
- (i) Tele-Law Programme
- (ii) Nyaya BandhuProgramme (Pro Bono Legal Services)
- (iii) Nyaya MitraProgramme

The details of these three schemes are as under:

(i) Tele-Law  Programme: Tele-Law  programme  aims  to  connect  the needy and disadvantaged section of society including person entitled to legal aid under section 12 of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987 through the use of  video  conferencing  and  telephone  facility  available  in  1800  Common Service Centers in 11 States; namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tipura, Nagaland, Aurnachal Pradesh and Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir.

As on 30th June 2019, legal advice has been rendered to 70,423 beneficiaries,  that  includes  26,582  (Women),   SC(  5473),  9104(ST)  and 15272(OBCS).

A dedicated web portal (www.tele-law.in) has been made available in  five languages  that  include  English,  Hindi,  Urdu,  Bengali  and  Assamese.  In February, 2019, Tele-Law  mobile application has been launched for enabling seamless connectivity between Para Legal Volunteer(PLV) and the legal advice seeker to pre- register cases for legal advice. In addition to the above,  Tele-Law  Dashboard  has  also  been  launched  to  capture  real  -time data on cases registered and advice enabled.

(ii) Pro  Bono  Legal  Services: The  Nyaya  Bandhu  (Pro  Bono  Legal Services)  prgramme  aims  to  provide  free  legal  aid  through  an  online database of advocates and eligible litigants. Thisprogramme is an attempt to institutionalise dispensation of pro bono legal services across the country by facilitation connection between lawyers and eligible litigants. The nyayaBandhu Mobile Application (App) allows marginalized person (referred  to  as  'Applicant')  seeking  free  legal  services,  to  easly  connect with  registered  Pro  Bono  advocates.  The  App  is  available  in  Hindi  and English.

The service under this programme isavailable all across the country. So far, 561  lawyers  have  registered  to  provide  pro  bono  services  and  444  cases have been registered on the web application for this purpose.

(iii) Nyaya Mitra: Nyaya Mitraprogrammewas launched in 227 selected districts  of  16  states  that  include  Rajasthan,  Bihar,  Uttar  Pradesh,  West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya, J & K, Maharasthra, Gujrat, Odisha, Arunachal  Pradesh,  Sikkim,  Manipur,  Tripura&  Nagaland  to  facilitate district  judiciary  in  reduction  of  old  pending  cases,  conducting  critical analysis  of  pending  cases,  identify  the  cases  in  Pre-Lokadalats  to  be referred to the Lokadalats on priority basis etc. During 2017-18, 15 Nyaya Mitra  were  appointed  for  15  districts:  Patna  (Bihar),  Birbhum,  Howrah, Cooch Behar, 24 North Paragnas (West Bengal); West Tripura (Tripura); Gaziyabad,  Kushinagar,  Meerut,  Gorakhpur,  Varanasi  (Uttar  Pradesh); Ganganagar, Jalore, Alwar,  Bhilwara  (Rajasthan)  for  a  contract  period  of six  months  (October  2017  -  March  31,  2018).  After  review  four  Nyaya Mitras have been reappointed from January 2019 in the State of Rajasthan and West Bengal.

- (b) Under the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms -Access to  Justice:  Tele-Law  Scheme is implemented in collaboration with a SPV, CSC e-Gov. Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services) is voluntary initiative on  the  part  of  advocates.  For  Nyaya  Mitra,  applications  are  invited  from retired judicial officers/ Government Executive officers. Hence no proposal is invited/received from any state including Tamil Nadu.
- (c) A total amount of Rs 2.35 crore was allocated under Tele-Law programme and an amount of Rs 22 Lakh was allocated under Nyaya Mitra in 2017-18. Pro Bono Legal Service was enabled through online portal created by NIC for which no cost had been incurred. The schemes are continuing schemes wherein beneficiaries are provided assistance as per their need. In 2018-2019 Rs.  2.73  crore  has  been  allocated  for  implementation  of  Tele  Law  and amount of Rs. 1.50 crore and 3.93 crore  has  been allocated  for  Pro  Bono (across India) and Nyaya Mitra

(d) Programme (227 Districts) respectively.

********