The differences between Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR) member Manoj Kumar and Chairperson Aarti Kujur has not just led to a large number of cases pending with the child rights body but is also hampering the present working of the body in a systematic way even hindering the official tour of the members in urgency.
Making the situation worse, the SCPCR members are clueless about the total number of cases disposed since the establishment of the body in 2012.
“We are compiling the number of cases registered with the SCPCR since its inception. At present, there is no official record of the cases registered with the commission so far or even the total number of cases disposed. The work will be completed at the earliest. As far as controversy is concerned, as a designated Chairperson I have all rights to take few major decisions and stop the members from being autocratic,” said, JSCPCR, Chairperson, Aarti Kujur.
Notably, the State Commission is required to submit an annual report to the State Government as well including special reports when an issue needs immediate attention but lack of compiled reports at one place may further create problem for the commission to interpret the facts when mandatory especially while taking references and dealing with other similar cases. Additionally, the commission also needs to conduct ‘Jan Sunvaai’ across the districts at a regular interval.
As earlier decided, the commission was supposed to have the provision of a complaint box, where people can drop messages, the associated members after verifying the case details would conduct public hearing within the stimulated timeframe. Complaints received from other districts would be sorted out in the respective districts only.
“As per the statutory guidelines, ‘Jan Sunvaai’ is not mandatory. The compilation of cases has been initiated from December 2016. In January, approximately 10 cases both major and minor from across the districts have been registered with the commission,” added Kujur.
Notably, the issue of the commission being deprived of basic facilities is gradually being addressed. Recently, the Social Welfare Department has released funds that will be utilized by the commission for several essential services that has been lingering since long ensuring its proper functioning.
“The commission has received the fund from the Social Welfare Department. At present, `58 lakh has been issued for meeting various expenses of the commission,” Kujur signed off.