Arunachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority has brought honour to the state by becoming the Best State Legal Services Authority among all the eight Northeast states. The award carries significance not just because it’s a national level award delivered in front of top legal luminaries of the country, but also since it has been achieved by a state authority which has to function in a setting which is much more difficult compared to most mainland states. It’s a fact that reaching out to the people of the state which is geographically the largest in entire Northeast with inadequate connectivity infrastructure and low legal awareness levels is quite a challenge. But in spite of these shortcomings, APSLSA has managed to perform according to people’s expectations and set itself as an example for the state’s overall institutional machinery, cutting across disciplines. 

It is an open secret and a reality rather that legal services in India can be availed by those only who are capable of affording them and are mostly out of reach for the financially weaker sections of society. This is actually against the spirit and objectives of Article 39A of the Constitution which says that it is the duty of the State to ensure  a legal system that will promote justice on a basis of equal opportunity and provide free legal aid by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way and make sure that  opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen due to economic or other disabilities. Enactment of Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987  was a step in achieving the above welfare objectives and along with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) at New Delhi,  State Legal Services Authorities were established to deliver the much needed free legal services to weaker sections. In Arunachal, APSLSA has proved itself a trusted refuge for the marginalised by organising round-the-year multifarious activities, challenging the communication bottlenecks and covering far-flung areas. Periodic  door-to-door mass legal awareness, free legal counselling,
legal literacy cum training for GBs are just a few among the legal aid activities that have created a mass appeal. Thanks to APSLSA, Lok Adalats in state have proved to be the most apt platform for lessening the burden of ever-growing heaps of pending litigations.

Although commendable efforts had been made so far, it needs no reiteration that to propel the legal aid movement in Arunachal to further greater levels, educating its indigenous populace about their constitutional as well as customary rights is the need of the hour. Just as APSLSA has done its part, widening the scope of legal education in state is a long-felt necessity which must now be worked upon with seriousness by the government.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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