At least 473 paralegal volunteers engaged in different districts of the state are staring at an uncertain future as the government had decided not to continue this project due to constraint of funds.
The Paralegal volunteers, who are at the verge of losing their jobs, staged a protest against the decision on Tuesday in front of Kailashahar District Library seeking reconsideration of the Government decision. The volunteers demanded a review of the decision and also pleaded with the government to make sure that their jobs would not be impacted at a time when there was an apparent financial slump due to the Covid 19 induced lockdown.
Presently there are altogether 72 paralegal volunteers posted in Unakoti District. These volunteers have been providing legal support to needy people in various areas for the last 10
years. Agitating volunteers said, not less than 473 volunteers across the state will be left jobless owing to the decision.
Way back in December 2010, the idea of paralegal volunteers came into being with the goal of providing legal aid in rural areas to raise aware-ness among the people living in rural areas.
Sources said, from 2019, the paralegal volunteer scheme is not being funded by the state government leading to which many of the volunteers are working without any financial benefits since quite a few months.
Earlier it was decided that every Panchayat would have a paralegal volunteer. But due to fund constraints, one paralegal volunteer was engaged for 2-3 village Panchayats. There are many Legal Aid Clinics in the state which will be indefinitely shut down from next August.
There is complete uncertainty over as to when the required funds will be allocated and the paralegal volunteers will start working again.