High court judge RK Merathia inaugurates the mega lok adalat in Jamshedpur on Saturday. (Bhola Prasad)

Jamshedpur, Feb. 25: Jharkhand state legal service authority (Jhalsa) will be deputing trained volunteers at various blocks from March to ensure that help on legal matters is available free even at remotest corners of the state.

Jhalsa member secretary and Ranchi district judge Basant Kumar Goswami, who was in the city for a mega lok adalat today, said around 300 para legal volunteers were being trained to start work next month.

Each block or panchayat centre would have two such legal volunteers who were being trained under the aigis of district legal service authority representatives in all 24 districts.

“We have held talks with the government for requesting deputy commissioners to provide space for opening offices at various blocks and panchayats. The government has also agreed to bear the costs of setting up the legal aid clinics and remuneration to be paid to the volunteers,” Goswami said.

Jharkhand High Court judge and Jhalsa chairman Ramesh Kumar Merathia, who was also in the city for the event, said the attempt was to strengthen people’s awareness of legal rights at the grassroots level, especially for those who were illiterate and women who were hesitant to register complaints.

Merathia, who is a zonal judge also inaugurated a legal aid clinic and awareness camp on protection of women and the girl child from sexual harassment and women’s right at Jamshedpur Women’s College in Bistupur.

“Volunteers,” he said on the sidelines of the inauguration, “would not only educate people about their rights but also guide harassed women in registering complaints at the proper forum (police station). In case of non-cooperation from police officials, they will also be provided help to approach legal authorities.”

Merathia said the volunteers would be present at legal aid clinics three-four days on weekdays at least and would be paid an honourarium of Rs 250 per day and provided an identity card from Jhalsa.

“We will try our best to engage local people who are educated and can get employment,” the judge said.

Adalat success

As many as 1,258 cases were disposed of at the Jamshedpur mega lok adalat which yielded a revenue of Rs 70.79 lakh.

In Bokaro, 6,215 among 20,392 pending cases were disposed of in three mega lok adalats held in the district today and in August and October 2011.