Maharashtra will be the third state after Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh to have such a scheme, a govt-constituted panel to finalise modalities of the plan.
Mumbai: The BJP-led Maharashtra government is preparing to increase support to victims of serious crimes under the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act and provide complete rehabilitation. The move comes at a time when there is a growing disenchantment within the Dalit community over what is seen as the dilution of this law by the apex court.
The Devendra Fadnavis government is in the process of finalising a contingency plan to help victims of serious offences under the SC/ST Act such as rape, molestation, murder and mass attacks by offering them land, housing, employment, pension and other benefits besides monetary compensation, officials said.
Maharashtra will be the third state after Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh to have such a scheme.
The government also plans to support family members of victims by measures such as sponsoring education of dependents or offering a government job to a family member.
“Maharashtra government has been giving monetary compensation to victims under the SC/ ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), but the rules of the legislation also call for a contingency plan for rehabilitation,” said Dinesh Waghmare, secretary at the social justice and special assistance department.
He said a draft has been prepared and the government has appointed a committee to finalise the plan.
“We will put it up before the cabinet soon for approval,” Waghmare told ThePrint.
Advocate Keval Uke, general secretary of the National Dalit Movement for Justice, said the contingency plan will also fix responsibilities of various measures on specific departments besides putting a time-limit for implementation.
“While the government will help victims of serious offences, with complete rehabilitation, other victims will also get specific aid to rehabilitate them,” Uke said.
“For instance, if a victim’s house has been damaged, then through the contingency plan, the government will be able to assist the victim in repairs or alternative housing,” he added.
The state’s social justice and special assistance department has constituted a 13-member committee under the chairmanship of the principal secretary, minority affairs department, to vet is draft and finalise the modalities.
The panel will comprise officers from the state police, the law and judiciary department, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission besides social activists, experts, academicians and lawyers.
Uke will also be part of the committee, which has been given one month to finalise the scheme.
The rules that call for such a contingency plan were published way back in 1995, while the Maharashtra government’s decision to implement it comes 23 years later.
The move comes at a time when there has been a wave of protests by the Dalit community against the Supreme Court’s order on the SC/ST Act.
In Maharashtra too, Dalits have consistently complained about the poor implementation of the Atrocities Act amid claims by the Maratha community that the law is being misused and should be reviewed.
The Maharashtra government has also been grappling with Dalit anger after the 1 January Bhima-Koregaon violence, when Dalits from across the country making their way for the bicentenary celebrations of the 1818 Bhima-Koregaon battle were attacked.