New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday concluded its two-day camp sitting at Mumbai organized to hear the pending cases of human rights violations in the state.
The Commission heard more than 200 cases in the presence of concerned state government officers and the complainants. These included, among others, the cases of deaths due to negligence of the Electricity Department, denial of retirement benefits, negligence in protecting the fundamental human rights of people belonging to ‘Koli’ community and cine workers, death of eleven people in a building collapse, incidents of bonded labour involving child labour, and deaths in judicial/police custody.
On the recommendations of the Commission, the Maharashtra government has paid Rs.32.5 lakh in six out of the seven cases. The State government has assured compliance with the recommendations of the commission in the remaining one.
The Commission asked the government to submit reports for the speedy disposal of cases. It has recommended that the state government formulate a uniform policy for the payment of compensation to the next of kin in electrocution death cases.
The commission emphasized that human rights issues not only pertained to police/prison administration but also to civil authorities. The commission also stressed upon prison reforms, shelter home upgradation, the release of interim compensation to the rescued bonded labourers and other provisions for their rehabilitation and final compensation must be followed.
The members also advised that the Chief Electrical Inspector’s office carry out a public awareness campaign regarding safety measures for electrocution cases. The commission had also taken up three matters pertaining to the Director General of Shipping and the Shipping Corporation of India.
