Full Commission Camp sitting in Orissa
The National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, organized its two-day camp sitting from 18th-19th January, 2011 at Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. During the day-long sessions of the Full Commission as well as Single Member Benches on the 18th January, 2011, 62 cases, having more than 400 linked complaints, were taken up for hearing. The Commission gave several recommendations to the Orissa Government for effecting overall improvement in human rights situation in the State.
The Full Commission chaired by Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan comprising Members, Mr. Justice B.C. Patel, Mr. Satyabrata Pal and Mr. P.C. Sharma, heard ten long-pending cases.
Thereafter, fifty-two cases were taken up in four Single Bench sittings, out of which eight were disposed of. In a case of death in police custody in Mayurbanj District, the Commission recommended that the State Government pay monetary relief of rupees three lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased.
The hearing of different matters was attended by the senior officers of the State including the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Principal Secretary (Home), Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of all the concerned departments, Inspector General Prisons, District Magistrates and Senior Superintendants of Police of the concerned districts, including KBK districts of Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi.
Some of the important recommendations of the Full Commission:
i) Effectively co-ordinate and implement various schemes for the KBK districts and present before the Commission a status report on the implementation of its recommendations and the welfare schemes including public distribution system, health, special security schemes etc. on the 21.03.2011.
ii) Adhere to the land acquisition policy and disburse the compensation to the affected people due to the Salanda Sanskar Project in Bhadrak district; review all such projects, including Vedanta, Tata and Posco steel projects, which have caused displacement of persons and inform whether the displaced persons were compensated and rehabilitated appropriately.
iii) Change in mindset of the senior officers is needed on the issue of the bartan system, a kind of bonded labour, and respond to the petitioner, Mr. Baghambar Patnaik on the issue.
iv) Submit a detailed report on Kandhamal violence and a contingency plan to deal with such situations.
The meeting with the senior officers continued into the second day and several issues were discussed. These related to police functioning, mental health services, manual scavenging and sanitation, bonded & child labour, conditions of jails, custody deaths etc. and implementation of NHRC recommendations and suggestions throughout the State in general and particularly in KBK region on the issues of poverty, unemployment, deprivation, hunger, starvation and malnutrition. The Commission expressed serious concern about the food security of the poor people who have been left out of the BPL list.
On the issue of custodial deaths, police encounters, unauthorized detention, conditions in jails, the authorities were directed to adhere to the guidelines issued by NHRC. The Commission also directed the State Government that its police officers adopt a humane approach towards the weaker sections of the society. The State authorities were asked to prevent deaths in police custody and conduct compulsory medical check-up of all the inmates in jail at the time of their entry there.
Following are the other important recommendations of the Commission:
i) Send timely and regular reports on various human rights related issues, including bonded labour, to enable the Commission to dispose of the matters quickly;
ii) Take immediate departmental action against the officers found guilty of human rights violations;
iii) Send a detailed report on the issue of bogus ration cards, particularly in the KBK region, and the action taken by the State against the corrupt
officials.
The State was also reminded to adhere to the questionnaire/reporting format on the juvenile justice system, circulated by the Commission, in order to assess the progress made in the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006, and send timely reports to the Commission.
During the interaction with the local NGOs, the Commission asked for more cooperation from them to strengthen the mutual relationship.
At the end of its meetings with state officials, the Commission met with Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa and discussed various issues pertaining to human rights in the state.
Mr. Justice Balakrishnan and Mr. Justice B.C. Patel, Member, NHRC also attended a day-long workshop on bonded and child labour organized by the Department of Panchayati Raj, Government of Orissa, on the 20th January, 2011.
The Full Commission chaired by Mr. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan comprising Members, Mr. Justice B.C. Patel, Mr. Satyabrata Pal and Mr. P.C. Sharma, heard ten long-pending cases.
Thereafter, fifty-two cases were taken up in four Single Bench sittings, out of which eight were disposed of. In a case of death in police custody in Mayurbanj District, the Commission recommended that the State Government pay monetary relief of rupees three lakhs to the next of kin of the deceased.
The hearing of different matters was attended by the senior officers of the State including the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Principal Secretary (Home), Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of all the concerned departments, Inspector General Prisons, District Magistrates and Senior Superintendants of Police of the concerned districts, including KBK districts of Koraput, Bolangir and Kalahandi.
Some of the important recommendations of the Full Commission:
i) Effectively co-ordinate and implement various schemes for the KBK districts and present before the Commission a status report on the implementation of its recommendations and the welfare schemes including public distribution system, health, special security schemes etc. on the 21.03.2011.
ii) Adhere to the land acquisition policy and disburse the compensation to the affected people due to the Salanda Sanskar Project in Bhadrak district; review all such projects, including Vedanta, Tata and Posco steel projects, which have caused displacement of persons and inform whether the displaced persons were compensated and rehabilitated appropriately.
iii) Change in mindset of the senior officers is needed on the issue of the bartan system, a kind of bonded labour, and respond to the petitioner, Mr. Baghambar Patnaik on the issue.
iv) Submit a detailed report on Kandhamal violence and a contingency plan to deal with such situations.
The meeting with the senior officers continued into the second day and several issues were discussed. These related to police functioning, mental health services, manual scavenging and sanitation, bonded & child labour, conditions of jails, custody deaths etc. and implementation of NHRC recommendations and suggestions throughout the State in general and particularly in KBK region on the issues of poverty, unemployment, deprivation, hunger, starvation and malnutrition. The Commission expressed serious concern about the food security of the poor people who have been left out of the BPL list.
On the issue of custodial deaths, police encounters, unauthorized detention, conditions in jails, the authorities were directed to adhere to the guidelines issued by NHRC. The Commission also directed the State Government that its police officers adopt a humane approach towards the weaker sections of the society. The State authorities were asked to prevent deaths in police custody and conduct compulsory medical check-up of all the inmates in jail at the time of their entry there.
Following are the other important recommendations of the Commission:
i) Send timely and regular reports on various human rights related issues, including bonded labour, to enable the Commission to dispose of the matters quickly;
ii) Take immediate departmental action against the officers found guilty of human rights violations;
iii) Send a detailed report on the issue of bogus ration cards, particularly in the KBK region, and the action taken by the State against the corrupt
officials.
The State was also reminded to adhere to the questionnaire/reporting format on the juvenile justice system, circulated by the Commission, in order to assess the progress made in the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006, and send timely reports to the Commission.
During the interaction with the local NGOs, the Commission asked for more cooperation from them to strengthen the mutual relationship.
At the end of its meetings with state officials, the Commission met with Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister, Orissa and discussed various issues pertaining to human rights in the state.
Mr. Justice Balakrishnan and Mr. Justice B.C. Patel, Member, NHRC also attended a day-long workshop on bonded and child labour organized by the Department of Panchayati Raj, Government of Orissa, on the 20th January, 2011.