Four Agricultural Legal Aid Clinics to be set up in Kothagudem

Four Agricultural Legal Aid Clinics are going to be set up in Kothagudem district to assist the farming community

Kothagudem: As many as four Agricultural Legal Aid Clinics are going to be set up in Kothagudem district to assist the farming community.

According to District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) secretary G Bhanumathi, the clinics are being set up at the directions of Telangana State Legal Service Authority in association with National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad.

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It is planned to set up the clinics at Rythu Vedika at Lothuvagu village of Laxmidevipalli mandal, ITDA office Bhadrachalam, Parnasala and Manugur in the district, she said.

The main objective of the clinics is to provide necessary legal assistance in solving all the problems faced by the farmers from the day the farmer sows the crop till the time he sells his agriculture produce in the market.

Agricultural Legal Aid Clinics will also extend support to farmers when they face land related problems, when they suffer loss due to defective seeds, fertilisers and pesticides, fraud in the market and when crop insurance is not implemented properly, Bhanumathi said.

Apart from providing legal services, programmes like creating awareness on agriculture and land laws and sensitising farmers about their rights will also be conducted through these clinics. Agricultural advice and legal assistance will be provided free of cost to the farmers.

Trained paralegal volunteers (PLVs) will be available for this purpose. The paralegal volunteers will register farmers’ problems and send the details to NALSAR, Legal Service Authority, Legal Empowerment and Assistance for Farmers Society (LEAFS). NALSAR students will examine them and provide technical assistance.

Awareness among farmers on various agricultural and farmer welfare schemes which are intended for their overall development will also be conducted. It is planned to inaugurate the Agricultural Legal Aid Clinic at Rythu Vedika at Lothuvagu village on April 21.

Principal District and Sessions Judge P Chandra Sekhara Prasad, Agriculture Officer Abhimanyudu, District Rural Development Officer Madhusudan Raju, District Welfare Officer Swarnalatha Lenina and ITDA APO Udaya Bhaskar held a meeting recently to review arrangements for setting up the clinics, Bhanumathi added.