The Hindu                    09.04.2013

Legal aid clinic at corporation office

A legal aid clinic to offer free legal advice and services to people has been opened at the corporation office here. Established by the District Legal Services Authority, the clinic will function twice a week – on Monday and Thursday - between 10.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. with a paralegal volunteer trained in basic laws and a panel lawyer on rotation basis deputed to it.

Principal District and Sessions Judge P. Velmurugan inaugurated the clinic in the presence of Mayor R. Jaya, lawyers, and civic body officials. Similar clinics are already functioning at the collectorate office, Srirangam taluk office, Andhanallur panchayat union office, Tiruverambur panchayat union office, Bharathidasan University’s Khajamalai campus, Government Law College, Tiruchi, Jamal Mohamed College, Chidambaram Pillai Women’s College, and Holy Cross College.

Besides offering legal advice, the clinic will lend its assistance by giving initial advice on a problem, help in drafting representations, and notices, and fill up forms to enable people avail of various benefits under different government schemes, public distribution system, and other social security schemes.

It will liaise with government offices and public authorities to aid the litigant public approaching the clinic for solving their problems. The paralegal volunteer will provide initial advice to those seeking legal services and assist the panel lawyer deputed to the clinic in drafting petitions, applications, pleadings, and other legal documents.

The paralegal volunteer or lawyer will attempt to amicably resolve the pre-litigation disputes brought to the clinic.

The Hindu                    09.04.2013

Civic body pursues solutions

Staff Reporter

An alternative proposal for balancing the livelihood of hawkers on the Marina beach with the beautification of the location will soon be worked out by the Chennai Corporation.

The Chennai Corporation on Monday asked officials to submit new proposals taking all aspects at the local level into consideration. The officials will study the new challenges due to increased number of hawkers before framing a scheme that “will not affect their livelihood and will also provide certain facilities to beach-users.”

The civic body held a meeting on Monday after submitting before the High Court that the measures will be taken in a “regulated manner so it does not have an adverse impact on the environment as well as on local hygiene and sanitation.”

The writ petition was filed by president of Gandhiji Consumer Forum, K. Balaji. The petitioner had said Marina Beach was in a pathetic and shabby condition and foreign tourists were afraid of coming to the beach. Through their negligence, the authorities had allowed hundreds of small shops and vendors to operate all over the beach. Because of their failure to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, substandard and unhygienic food was being sold there, the petition said.

The civic body may once again enumerate the hawkers and would require at least three months to implement the new scheme that may include removal of all shops from the sands.

Temporary shops are likely to be permitted along the service lane if the proposal is cleared by the traffic police.