Dalits Media Watch
News Updates 25.03.11
NAC to push for inclusion of SC/ST in food security law - IBN Live
Issue of minor dalit girl''s rape raised in U''khand Assembly - IBN Live
Need to tackle rise in SC/ST atrocity cases: Wasnik - Zee News
http://www.zeenews.com/news695765.html
Loan allocation for SC/ST students hiked manifold: Govt - Indian Express
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/loan-allocation-for-sc-st-students-hiked-manifold-govt/767373/0
Students suffer, Mahrashtra fails to release funds - DNA
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_students-suffer-mahrashtra-fails-to-release-funds_1524683
Three special courts to try SC, SC atrocity cases - The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com/326918/Three-special-courts-to-try-SC-SC-atrocity-cases.html
SC, ST welfare: 'we can see the figures but not the results' - The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032662471100.htm
Valmiki members from Paonta Sahib run to Dehradun for safety - The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com/326955/Valmiki-members-from-Paonta-Sahib-run-to-Dehradun-for-safety.html
IBN Live
NAC to push for inclusion of SC/ST in food security law
PTI | 11:03 PM,Mar 24,2011
New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) The National Advisory Council, chaired by Sonia Gandhi, today decided to push for inclusion of SCs/STs in the vulnerable groups that required to be covered under the proposed food security law. At its meeting here today, the NAC also decided to give its inputs to the formulation of a BPL survey methodology so that its recommendations could be operationalised. "In the meeting of the NAC today, it was agreed that the NAC should reiterate its earlier recommendations to the Ministry of Rural Development," said a statement by the advisory panel here. In October last year, the NAC had recommended that every household should be categorised as priority and non-priority households. Every individual in priority households should get a minimum of 35 kg of cheap foodgrain every month. The NAC had suggested inclusion of particularly vulnerable tribal groups' (PTGs), the Maha dalit groups, households headed by single women or disabled person or a minor, destitute households which are dependent predominantly on alms for survival, homeless and bonded labourers in the priority group. "After the inclusion of these categories, the highest priority should be given to the inclusion of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the identification of "Priority groups" under the National Food Security Bill," the NAC had said. On the amendments to the Right to Information Act, the NAC has reached an agreement with the Department of Personnel and Training on all but one issues. "Areas of agreement include, enhancement of word limit from 250 words to 500 words and also to drop the Rules relating to abatement of RTI application upon death of applicant," the NAC statement said. With regard to restricting all RTI applications to 'one subject matter', the NAC decided to recommend that such restriction be dropped from the purview of the proposed amendments to RTI Act. The draft Communal Violence Bill is expected to be presented before the Council at its next meeting on April 28.PTI SKU
IBN Live
Issue of minor dalit girl''s rape raised in U''khand Assembly
PTI | 05:03 PM,Mar 24,2011
Dehra Dun, Mar 24 (PTI) The issue of rape of a minor dalit girl in Haridwar district was raised in Uttarakhand Assembly today by BSP members, who demanded a detailed discussion over the plight of dalits in the hill state. Raising the issue through adjournment motion during the Zero Hour, Leader of BSP legislature party Mohammed Shehzad said a 14-year-old dalit girl was raped at Libberheri in Mangalore area of Haridwar district on March 22. He said an 11-year-old dalit girl was also raped in the area last year and similar incidents of rape and other crimes against dalits were being reported from various parts of the state and the situation had reached an "alarming stage". Alleging that the government had failed to check such incidents, he said there was urgent need to hold a detailed discussion over the problem and find a solution to it. Shehzad was supported by his party MLAs as well as some members from Congress who also urged Speaker Harbans Kapoor to allow a discussion over the issue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prakash Pant said the government was ready to give its reply over the issue and the information regarding this specific case was being collected. As the BSP members were pressing for their demand, Kapoor adjourned the House for lunch.
Zee News
Need to tackle rise in SC/ST atrocity cases: Wasnik
http://www.zeenews.com/news695765.html
Updated on Saturday, March 26, 2011, 15:57
New Delhi: Government on Saturday admitted that there was a rise in the number of atrocity cases against people of schedule caste and scheduled tribes in the country and said there was an urgent need to tackle the issue.
"It is a fact that despite having the SC/ST (prevention of atrocity) Act, there has been an increase in the number of atrocity cases against people of these communities in recent times. There is a need to tackle this issue," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik said here.
According to National Crime Records Bureau statistics, a total of 80,489 cases of atrocity against scheduled tribes were recorded from 1995 to 2009.
He was speaking at the first national consultation of tribal people's movements and organisations on 'implementation of the SC/ST Act and Tribal Sub-plan (TSP)'.
He lamented that the conviction rate in such cases was abysmally low at 27 per cent and that the pendency of cases in courts nationwide was as much as 81 per cent.
On the issue of allocation of funds for the TSP and Special Complement Plan (SCP), he said it has been found that this was not working as per the plan, adding that, there have been complaints that funds for SC/ST projects and people were not reaching the rights hands.
"We are improving the monitoring mechanism and several shortcomings have been done away with. Earlier, one could not figure out the exact allocation by the finance ministry, but, we requested Pranab Mukherjee and he has changed pattern in the recent Union Budget," Wasnik said.
Regarding government's plans for education of the SC/ST communities, he said till now they were only provided with a post-matric scholarship scheme, which nearly 47 lakh students took benefit of annually.
"Now, for the first time, government will provide pre-matric scholarship schemes, targeting 40 lakh students," the minister said.
Vasanti, a leading SC/ST activist, spoke about the plight of tribal men and women working as domestic helps in New Delhi and other parts of the country and said she was optimistic that the National Advisory Council, headed by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, was looking at preparing a draft Domestic Workers Social Security Bill.
Citing a recent case, she said a senior Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, presently posted in Ahmedabad, has been accused of sexual harassment by his house help who is a tribal girl.
"We urge the Social Justice Minister to write to the Ministry of External Affairs to take action against this officer," she said.
PTI
Indian Express
Loan allocation for SC/ST students hiked manifold: Govt
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/loan-allocation-for-sc-st-students-hiked-manifold-govt/767373/0
Posted: Fri Mar 25 2011, 19:14 hrs New Delhi:
Government today said it had increased allocation of loans for Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe SC/ST scholarships manifold and was aiming to provide the benefit to 40 lakh pre-metric students from this category.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha on a discussion to the answer given by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on March 11, his deputy Namo Narain Meena said the education loans to SC/ST students was Rs 273 crore in 2003-04 but stood at Rs 2,252 crore in 2009-10.
He said the percentage of SC/ST students covered under the loans from this category was 17.69 per cent of their population.
For loans to SC/ST on agri-business, a special cell has been established in public sector banks, the Minister of State for Finance said.
Opposition members, especially those from the BJP, countered the claims made by Meena, saying these provisions were already there and the main issue was their proper implementation.
They claimed no cells had been established in banks for SC/ST.
Jyoti Dhurve (BJP), who had asked for the half-hour discussion on Mukherjee's reply, raised some important points during her presentation.
"The SC and ST have are not getting dues. What is the reason behind the poor development of these communities despite spending a lot of money by the government. I think that they have not got their due," she said.
Dhurve also talked about the unaffordable education finance which is hampering the growth of downtrodden in the country and pointed out that the rate of interest on such loans is as high 11 per cent.
She demanded cheaper education loans for the SC and ST students.
Shailendra Kumar (SP) said the enumeration of SC/ST population has till now not been done properly, as a result of which the real number of those living below the poverty line is not known. He said provisions should be made for giving reservations to SC/ST in private sector as well.
Arjun Meghwal (BJP) said the government should find out how many banks have not met their target of providing loans to SC/ST under its DRI scheme.
He insisted that government should provide for coaching classes for SC/ST students.
Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan (SAD) said the minister's answer was way off the mark and sought to know who are the beneficiaries of the government schemes for SC/ST.
She complained that the loan never reaches the intended beneficiaries at the ground level.
DNA
Students suffer, Mahrashtra fails to release funds
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_students-suffer-mahrashtra-fails-to-release-funds_1524683
Published: Saturday, Mar 26, 2011, 18:22 IST By Manasi Saraf-Joshi |
The students of Indira College of Engineering and Management, belonging to the backward class (BC), are a worried lot. About 10 engineering students falling in SC/ ST/ DT/ NT/ OBC categories could not fill their examination forms on Friday, as the state social welfare department (SWD) failed to disburse the amount under the state government's freeship scheme.
Friday was the last day of filling up the forms for the May examination. Under the scheme, the state government takes care of the fees of these students with amount depending on their performance and course.
The college authorities told these hapless students that they cannot fill the forms as the freeship has not been deposited.
The students have to now pay the fees from their own pockets, along with a fine. The college will reimburse the amount after the SWD releases the fund.
The institute's vice-principal, Shreedhar Dev, told DNA that it is difficult to run the institute unless the students pay the fees. "Many of the students have paid a part of the amount," he said.
Some college authorities said that the affected students should have intimated the institution about the SWD delay in disbursing the amount and need additional time to pay the fee.
"The SWD officials should be more sympathetic towards our cause," an affected student said.
Admitting the delay in releasing funds, SWD divisional officer, SB Bhamare, could not explain the delay. "We have Rs5 crore to be disbursed under the freeship scheme. If there is any problem, we would take corrective steps immediately," he said.
The department has so far distributed Rs85 crore under the scheme for BC students.
However, the students later informed the media that the college administration had agreed to allow the students to pay their exam fee till April 10 without fine.
The Pioneer
Three special courts to try SC, SC atrocity cases
http://www.dailypioneer.com/326918/Three-special-courts-to-try-SC-SC-atrocity-cases.html
March 26, 2011 9:33:39 PM
PNS | Bhubaneswar
The State Government has decided to set up three Special Courts to dispose the atrocity cases against the Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes during the 2011-12 financial year, Minister, ST and SC Development , Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Department, Bijoy Ranjan Singh Bariha fold the State Assembly Friday.
Replying to the marathon seven hour discussion on the demand for grants relating his department for the fiscal, 2011-12 said that the proposed Special Courts would be opened in the districts with over 500 pending cases of atrocity.
Stressing that the department is taking all possible measures for enforcement of protection of civil rights Act as far as SC & ST people are concerned, the Minister said that measures like Legal Aid, Relief and Rehabilitation to the victims are covered.
He also announced that TA and DA would be provided to the witness for investigation and trial of cases relating to the atrocity.
He also announced that there would be Legal Cells at the district and Block level Similarly, the Department has decided to open Legal Aid Clinic in all 118 Tribal Sub-Plan Blocks.
In each Legal Aid Cells there would be two legal experts with an emolument of Rs 5,000 to ensure free counseling to the SC and ST victims and make aware the PCR Act and the POR act, he said adding that they would provide free leagal aid to people form SC and ST community.
Expressing the concern over the problems of fake caste certificate the Minister also announced that the state government had decided to bring a Legislation in the assembly to check the issuance of fake Caste Certificates . The bill is in draft stage and would be finalised in near future.
Stating that the State Government has given stress on the development of education Among the ST communities, he said that during the 2011-12, it had been decided to construct 132 Girls hostel with 100 bed each.
He further said 1,000 hostels will be constructed for ST and SC students at an estimated cost of Rs 215 crore during the 2011-12 financial year. Out of his 700 hostels are girls and 300 for boys.
He said that in order to check high rate of drop out and to promote ST Girls education, his department had opened 1,004 girls hostels spread over 30 districts of the State. Construction of new 1,040 St Girls Hostels were under progress and for completion of the project Rs 10.42 crore has been proposed in the budget.
The Minister also announced that the department has formulated a new OTELP PLUS scheme at an involvement of Rs 263.96 crore to be implemented in tribal districts for a period of seven years in phases from 2011-12 financial year. For this Rs 41.98 crore has been provided during next financial year. As part of the programme 244 watersheds would be created in Koraput and Malkangiri.
After the Ministers reply and clarification, the demand for grants amounting to Rs 1,286.37 crore was passed in a voice vote.
The Hindu
SC, ST welfare: 'we can see the figures but not the results'
http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/26/stories/2011032662471100.htm
Staff Reporter
MUMBAI: Plan after Plan and thousands of crores of rupees are allotted for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Schedules Tribes (STs).
Their condition, however, still remains dismal. "We can see the figures, but we cannot see the results," activist Surekha Dalvi said at a seminar on social sector budgeting here on Friday.
She said that funds for the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP), meant specifically for these sections, got routinely diverted for other purposes.
For instance, "TSP funds were used for the Surya dam in the Adivasi-dominated area of Palghar in Maharashtra. It was said that the water was meant for the Adivasis. However, we found it was being diverted to the Vasai-Virar municipal corporation. This happens everywhere," Ms. Dalvi said.
She said that on most occasions, the diversions were effected through cabinet decisions by considerations of "special cases."
The Adivasis of Maharashtra form 8.9 per cent (around one crore) of the total population of the State. More than 90 per cent of them are below the poverty line, and a negligible 0.7 per cent is in higher education.
"Five things were promised to them after independence — the right to natural resources and forests, local administration, decision-making power, cultural security, and the right to chart out their own development path. None of this is reflected in the schemes formulated for them," Ms. Dalvi said.
The Pioneer
Valmiki members from Paonta Sahib run to Dehradun for safety
http://www.dailypioneer.com/326955/Valmiki-members-from-Paonta-Sahib-run-to-Dehradun-for-safety.html
March 26, 2011 9:39:39 PM
PNS | Dehradun
Members of the Valmiki community of Paonta Sahib are migrating towards Dehradun to safety as they are living under conditions of constant fear. Transportation of buses for Himachal Pradesh and Punjab were also disrupted from Dehradun on Friday.
It is to be noted that three people were killed during the clash between two communities on Wednesday night in Paonta Sahib. An altercation had taken place between the Valmiki and Vahati community on the occasion of Hola Mohalla fair in Poanta Sahib which took an ugly turn on Wednesday night where three people were killed and several others sustained grave injuries. Some of injured, who were earlier taken to Vikas Nagar hospital, were later shifted to Doon hospital.
Prohibitory orders were enforced in the holy city of Paonta Sahib to control the irate mob that went on a rampage to protest against the murder of the three youths at the fair.
The protesters blocked the Nahan-Dehradun Highway where they held demonstrations and torched vehicles and set ablaze the Valmiki colony, where the murderers allegedly lived. Police cane charged protesters and imposed prohibitory orders under CrPC Section 144 to bring the situation under control.
Meanwhile, State border between Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has been sealed and police checking has been intensified.
--
.Arun Khote
On behalf of
Dalits Media Watch Team
(An initiative of "Peoples Media Advocacy & Resource Centre-PMARC")
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