New Delhi, Delhi, 30th of September, 2024 : The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE), Government of India, and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today in New Delhi. This significant partnership is aimed at enhancing public awareness about various Acts, Rules and Schemes of the Department, especially those designed to support the marginalized and vulnerable sections of society.
NALSA, constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act of 1987, has a mandate to provide legal aid to disadvantaged groups and spread legal literacy. Through this MoU, both NALSA and DoSJE will conduct a series of campaigns, seminars, and events to increase the reach and impact of social welfare schemes for vulnerable communities across India.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Shri Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment, and Shri Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India & Executive Chairman of NALSA. The event also witnessed the official launch of the SARTHIE 1.0 initiative, a joint effort intended to empower disadvantaged communities, including Scheduled Castes (SCs), Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Senior Citizens, Transgender Persons, Victims of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, persons engaged in the act of Begging, Denotified and Nomadic Tribes, and more.
The SARTHIE 1.0 initiative also aligns with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly the goals focused on eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, and promoting social protection policies that ensure greater equality for all. The collaboration aims to bridge the awareness gap and provide legal assistance to ensure the effective implementation of social welfare programmes. The launch of SARTHIE 1.0 during this event marks a crucial step toward addressing the needs of the most vulnerable sections of society through awareness generation and legal support, empowering them to access government welfare schemes more effectively. The synergy between the executive and the judiciary will ensure that the social justice to all is further strengthened.
In collaboration with NALSA, the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment will ensure that awareness generation and outreach extends to the grassroot level. Under this partnership, State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) and District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs), will organize awareness camps across the country through the para-legal volunteers and panel lawyers. The camps will focus on ensuring awareness of the five important Acts being implemented by the Department:
1. Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1965
2. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
3. The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007
4. The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019
5. Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
Besides ensuring outreach of the various schemes of the department, these legal awareness and outreach initiatives will range from Panchayat to State level, ensuring that the targeted audiences are made aware of their legal rights and the government welfare programmes available to them.
