The Aam Aadmi Party government has reconstituted a Special Task Force (STF) for women's safety in the national capital, a government official said on Saturday.
According to Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) officials, an order to reconstitute the STF was issued by the Home Department on January 17 after getting the Delhi Lt. Governor's assent.
The 17-member task force will be headed by Delhi Lt. Governor Anil Baijal.
Its members include DCW chief Swati Maliwal, Delhi Police Commissioner, Delhi Chief Secretary, a representative of Ministry of Home Affairs (UT Division), Principal Secretary Home, Secretary Women and Child Development of Delhi government, Secretary Social Welfare and Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic).
Its other members are Chairperson of New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), Commissioners of all three Municipal Corporations, Excise Commissioner and the Transport Commissioner of Delhi government.
Special Commissioner of Police (Women Safety) will be the nodal officer.
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"The task force will meet on a fortnightly basis and look into women safety issues in Delhi. It will continuously review the action taken by the Delhi Police and other departments of the Delhi government," the order said.
The STF has been formed in response to a notice issued by the Delhi High Court to the Lt. Governor on a DCW petition as to why no committee on women safety was set up.
The DCW had been appealing to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and the then L-G for over a year to form the task force.
In 2012, the Nirbhaya rape case brought the issue of women's safety in Delhi to centrestage.
In response, then Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde formulated an STF headed by the Union Home Secretary. However, the STF was disbanded in 2016, with the claim that its objective had been fulfilled.
The DCW approached the High Court which on December 21, 2016, issued a notice to the Delhi L-G, whose office then filed an affidavit that a decision was taken on January 17, 2017, to reconstitute the STF.
Maliwal hailed the development.
"Along with this STF, there should also be a High-Level Committee on womens' security which should have representatives not only of the Delhi Police and the DCW, but also people," Maliwal said.
--IANS
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