Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot today expressed concern over the pendency of cases under the amended SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act and instructed states to develop mechanisms like setting up of special courts for their quick disposal.
Inaugurating the Regional Conference of the Social Welfare Ministers of Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, Gehlot stressed on the implementation of the amended Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in true letter and spirit.
The social justice and empowerment minister expressed concern over the pendency of 28,031 cases under the Act in courts in 2015 in Uttar Pradesh and 2,278 cases in Chhattisgarh.
As per the data given by the states for 2015, 171 cases under the Act were pending in courts in Delhi while no data was available from Jammu and Kashmir.
In UP, 2,040 (57.9 pc) cases ended in conviction under the PoA Act in conjunction with the Indian Penal Code while the figure in Chhattisgarh and Delhi stood at 182 (28.9 pc) and 1 (8.3 pc) respectively in the same year.
The minister also urged states, which have not submitted details of the pending cases, to nominate nodal officers.
While addressing the problems of implementing schemes in Jammu and Kashmir due to law and order situation, the minister suggested identifying districts where drug addiction, especially among youth, is rampant and assured all possible assistance.
During the discussions, two districts of Jammu and Kashmir along with four states were also selected for survey and implementation of the flagship Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojna for poor senior citizens.
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