A Mega Legal Services Camp was held under the auspices of Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) and Phek District Legal Services Authority, in collaboration with various government departments, stakeholders and NGOs, at local ground, Phek town on Saturday.
Member secretary NSLSA, Mezivolu T. Therieh, in her key note address said that the Legal Services Authority Act 1987 created legal service authorities primarily with an aim to provide legal services to the weaker and marginalized sections of society. According to her, under this act, one of the functions as per section 4(e) is to organize legal services camps especially in rural areas with the dual purpose of educating the weaker sections of society about their rights, and also to encourage them to settle their cases in Lok Adalats. She said the objectives of the legal services camp was spreading awareness of the welfare legislations and schemes, identifying and connecting people to welfare schemes to ensure benefits for eligible people and to give appropriate legal advice and take steps when deemed necessary.
Therieh told the gathering that the mega legal services camp was a service delivery model to cause a paradigm shift from legal awareness to legal empowerment for marginalized and weaker sections of society.
She expressed gratitude to Nagaland government for their prompt responses in cooperating and coordinating with its flagship programme of conducting legal services camps in all the districts at various intervals.
Dwelling on the importance of such legal camps, she said “everything starts with knowing your rights and entitlements, otherwise you will not get what you deserve”. She advised the public that in order to get assistance from Phek District Legal Service Authority, they have to send the required documents to its head office located at Kohima.
ADC Phek, Mhathung Tsanglao in his address said this legal camp spreads awareness of rights and entitlements, from the government that are accessible to the public. He also spoke about the public responsibility of protecting and conserving the environment and nature. Parents are also responsible to educate their children and every citizen is responsible for protecting public property, he stated.
The program was led by district and session judge & chairman Phek DLSA, a folk song was presented by Ratakhrii, while of a vote thanks was proposed by project coordinator, legal services camp NSLSA, Limasenla Longkumer advocate.
Later, Mezivolu T Therieh inaugurated the stalls and visited to all of them. Altogether 32 stalls, including various government departments, legal services and NGOs, were set up to help the public. The departments at the camp were — the departments of labour, power, soil and water conservation, disaster management, legal and metrology and consumer protection, irrigation and flood control, planning, co-operation, horticulture, DIPR, employment exchange, food and supplies, rural development, education, agriculture, ATMA, postal, NSTCB, SBI, forest, legal awareness, fisheries, Vety. & animals husbandry, land resources, social welfare, PHED, transport, sericulture, NSACS, medical, NAPAD, Aadhaar registration, among others.
The daylong camp registered 2,227 visitors and dispensed on spot services from 32 departmental and NGO stalls.