Summary:
Kolkata, Oct 4 (PTI) The West Bengal State Legal Services Authority (SALSA) has started an outreach initiative to make "access to justice for all" easier, and roped in the railways to open kiosks for the programme at several important stations across the state, a senior official said here on Monday.
The programme is part of the pan-India awareness campaign launched by National Legal Services Authority to commemorate 75 years of the country"s independence, Raju Mukherjee, member secretary, State Legal Services Authority, said.
"The State Legal Services Authority is under a statutory obligation to reach out to the last person in the queue residing in the remote areas of the state, and the campaign will go a long way in providing legal aid at doorsteps," Mukherjee said.
The Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway, North Frontier Railway and Metro Railway authorities have been tapped for the project at the behest of Calcutta High Court Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal, who is also the patron-in-chief and executive chairman of State Legal Services Authority, he said.
The zonal railways eagerly agreed to associate themselves with the campaign, assuring all cooperation by providing space for kiosks, banners, posters and other logistic support on the railway premises, a SALSA official said.
Booths have been erected at Howrah, Sealdah, Asansol, Kharagpur and New Jalpaiguri railway stations as part of the campaign, which will continue till November 14, the official said.