In a novel initiative, city based JSS Law College has taken up a project to create legal awareness and extend legal help to 10 villages each in Mysore and Nanjanagud taluks in a span of two years.
The programme which is the first of its kind in the state has been designed around Mahathma Gandhiji’s concepts of Gram Swaraj, Gram Nairmalya and Lok Adalat. As its striking feature the project aims at serving twin purposes; imparting training to the law students and legal awareness to the rural folks.
The process is underway to identify villages wherein legal awareness is pretty low and as per the plans the project is scheduled to get a kickstart in the month of August. The project will be implemented in the villages of Mysore taluk in the first phase during the year 2007-08 and the villages of Nanjanagud taluk will be covered in the second phase during 2008-09.
The prime objective of the project, being spearheaded by National Council for Rural Institutes (NCRI) which is getting grants from the Centre, is to extend services to the masses at the grass-roots level.
While, a whopping amount of Rs 22 lakh has been sanctioned for the project which has been drafted in such way that the legal benefits are taken to atleast 60,000 people in a year.
Awareness  will be created among the people about the rights of women, children and aged persons, land records, crime and right to information, on the other hand the students will be sensitised to the functioning of the local bodies which play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of villages.
It has also been contemplated to create awareness about Gandhian model of social reformation and development among the local bodies,  to organise Lok Adalats, resolve disputes, inspire the personnel at the grass- roots level to come out of the caste and class mindset, introduce Gandhian principles to students and rural folks.
College Principal Prof K S Suresh claimed that they have chalked out the project targetting the youth organisations and women’s self help groups. Special emphasis has been accorded to women’s self help groups since they act as economic powerhouses in the rura regions, he quipped.
 The Principal not only stated that the final year students of the college will be assigned with the task of implemeting the project, but also added that external resource persons will be roped in for the same in order to supplement the college faculty.
10 villages are identifed every year and students are being taken to those places every week as part of the curriculum to create legal awareness among the people, he added.
The project has been planned with an ambition that it will offer much more in this regard, he confidently said.