State constitutes child victim compensation fund

CHENNAI: The State government has constituted ‘Tamil Nadu Child Victim Compensation Fund’ under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act with an initial amount of Rs 2 crore for awarding interim compensation to the victims.

This comes after the Commissioner of Social Defence sent a proposal following the orders of Chief Secretary during the law and order meeting held on August 26. It is learnt that the commissioner has sought an initial allocation of Rs 14.96 crore.

As per a Government Order, the rules governing the composition and administration of the fund would be issued separately. The State government has fixed an interim compensation of Rs 20,000 and the quantum of compensation from a minimum of Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh under the POCSO Act.

The State has contributed a sum of Rs 2 crore as an initial amount pending approval from the legislature. The approval of legislature will be sought by inclusion of it in the Supplementary Estimates for the year 2020-21.