283 victims await relief under the Manodhairya scheme: RTI query

Pune: As many as 283 cases of Manodhairya funds including rape, acid attack and The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 under Manodhairya scheme, are pending for compensation in the State from January to September 2018, revealed a Right to Information (RTI) query by city-based RTI activist Vihar Dhurve.
 
While 1,853 cases were pending for compensation till December 2017.
 
As per the data received from State Women and Child Development Department dated January 4, 2019, a total of 2,504 cases were referred to District Criminal Injuries Relief and Rehabilitation Board. Among these, 825 were rape cases, 1,669 were cases under POCSO and 10 cases related to acid attacks. 

However, only 1,535 cases were approved by the district board and remaining 369 cases were rejected.

Out of the approved cases, around 600 cases were considered for compensation and 317 were granted compensation.
 
In remaining 283 pending cases, the State gave the reasons in delay to grant compensation are that in 22 cases the survivor was not traced on the address mentioned in the correspondence, in 86 cases the survivor did not submit documents required for opening of bank accounts. In 40 cases including 39 POCSO cases and one rape case, the person failed to submit a legal heir certificate. In 15 cases, as the survivor shifted to other states, the communication could not be made. 

“Available cases of Manodhairya have now been given to legal service authority. The committee requires a few documents like victim’s statement given before magistrate and expected to support the statement recorded under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) Section 164 in court, medical reports to clear these cases. Only after all these procedures are complete they receive the aid, and this is very necessary,” said Vijaya Rahatkar, Chairperson, Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW).
 
“We take continuous follow-ups for that WCD department takes care of these cases and we will continue to do. But the implementation is not in the hands of the commission,” added Rahatkar.