Description
Summary:This note reviews the role legal aid can play as a catalyst to empower and strengthen the livelihoods of the poor in a World Bank-funded project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP), the AP Rural Poverty Reduction Project. This note shows how land-related legal aid activities can be implemented to support community-driven development project objectives. Initial evidence on the positive impacts of legal aid on economic and social advancement of the project's target population in AP suggests that attention to the land rights of the poor can significantly enhance the impact of community-driven development projects in India. The note discusses how projects being implemented in other states might benefit from adoption of a land-related legal aid component.