Legal Aid Gets a Litmus Test: Govt to Audit DISHA Scheme’s Reach and Impact Ahead of Deadline

As the DISHA (Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice in India) legal aid scheme nears the end of its scheduled implementation in 2026, the government has decided to conduct an independent audit of the scheme. The independent evaluation will assess the impact, scalability, and sustainability of the scheme, which is within the Department of Justice under the Union Law Ministry.

 

DISHA has a budget of Rs 250 crore over a five-year period beginning in 2021. As part of the scheme, it has three major programmes: Tele-Law, Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services), and Legal Literacy and Legal Awareness, which are aimed at providing affordable and accessible legal services, particularly to citizens who are marginalized and in remote areas.

 

The Department of Justice has issued a notice seeking tenders for this independent evaluation and has expressed the need for a timely completion of the evaluation.  The evaluation will consider the impact of the two programmes on their target beneficiaries, the effectiveness of the implementation of the services under the programmes, recommendations for future support, and an output-outcome evaluation, and whether or not the scheme should continue after 2026.

 

The Tele-Law programme uses technology to provide citizens with access to legal experts through videoconferencing at common service centres. Nyaya Bandhu is a service that links practising advocates who provide pro bono services to citizens with legal issues, particularly marginalized communities. The Legal Literacy programme focuses on providing awareness and understanding of the law and legal rights to the public.

 

The government aims to use the audit to provide recommendations to improve the delivery and quality of legal aid services of this kind in the future.

 

Source: Business Standard