BLAST
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BLAST achieved some milestones despite the otherwise gloomy scenario. On the side of the programme, the number of cases settled through mediation increased substantially. The trend still showed a high number of women beneficiaries and family related disputes. The beneficiaries were given wider opportunities to be heard and their voice participation became an important feature in the strategy of planning and delivery of service. The rural leaders like UP chairmen, members, women members and other important personalities like teachers, imams and community leaders were involved in BLAST’s awareness and advocacy programme, initiating the process of reaching the grass roots and eliciting their views.
Litigation cases were also on the rise though the rate of settled cases did not improve much. An average of 30 percent filed cases were settled as the cumulative number of pending cases increased by the volume of unsettled cases of the current year. Procedural delay and abuse of legal provisions continued to pose as the most formidable challenge to early disposal of cases.
BLAST took a number of public interest issues to the Supreme Court and obtained positive rulings. Those ranged from release of long held prisoners to environment protection, from protection of bustee dwellers to enforcement of law on edible iodized salt. The progress in the implementation of the rulings of the High Court division of the Supreme Court has been skewed, partly due to government administrative indifference and partly due to the limited capacity of BLAST to monitor external agencies specially government. However, it continued to pursue its goal of mounting advocacy with the involvement of all concerned – the GO as far as possible and the like minded NGOs.
BLAST’s advocacy in conjunction with networked organizations on the labour front, on violence against women, juvenile justice and human rights issues specially related to the rights of the adibashis in CHT and Garo communities were highly pronounced.
Of special mention is the engagement in the labour sector to protect the rights of the labours, specially the garment workers who earn valuable foreign exchange for the country but are neglected and ill treated by most entrepreneurs. BLAST has been fully active in obtaining compensation for them, recovering their unpaid wages and entitlements, giving them training, making them aware of their rights and improving the relations between them and the management by offering counseling service.
The team worked well and achieved a higher landmark. It was possible to address long outstanding issues and finalize a framework for capturing actual impact of BLAST interventions with a revised log frame and a strengthened support units. BLAST worked out the gender policy, a training policy and rejuvenated the Monitoring and Evaluation cell which started work along the newly developed log frame.
The future holds out the promise of a time when access to justice will become easier and rule of law a matter of culture however distant it may seem now. BLAST has graduated to a situation and attained an organizational capacity to address new issues like the concern of health, the deprivation of the marginalized people like the untouchables and HIV affected ones, the capacity development at the grass roots for the community to rise to the occasion and meet any challenges of human rights violation in their own yard. All these, we hope, will lead to the future that we hold dear in our vision.
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High Court ask Government to set up District and Sessions Courts in 3 Hill District [18 Newspaper clippings]
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