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National

Ministry gives shape to equal opportunities panel

Special Correspondent

Its jurisdiction will extend to all deprived groups

EOC to create indices for measuring inequality in different sectors
It will have all powers of civil court to gather information

NEW DELHI: The Minority Affairs Ministry has finalised the contours of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) being planned by the government to address the inequalities that persist even 60 years after Independence and evolve/evaluate mechanisms for affirmative action.

Bill drafted

Accepting the recommendations of the expert group set up last year under the chairmanship of N. R. Madhava Menon to determine the structure and functions of the Commission, the Ministry has drafted a Bill for its creation. A Cabinet note for bringing it before Parliament is in circulation for inter-ministerial consultations.

The Ministry has borrowed heavily from the legislation drafted by the expert group while preparing the Bill. Besides the chairman, it will have six members, two of them full-time. The members — two have to be women — will be selected by a three-member committee headed by the Prime Minister and comprising the Minister for Minority Affairs and the Leader of the Opposition.

Unlike most other commissions, the EOC will have a five-year term.

Its jurisdiction will extend to all deprived groups, which have been denied or which claim to have been denied equal opportunities by the government or private institutions particularly in education and employment.

Powers

As the Ministry does not envisage grievance redress as the EOC’s principal function, it has not sought strong punitive or quasi-judicial powers for the Commission. The EOC will, however, have all powers of a civil court to gather information and it can ask for criminal proceedings to be initiated if the situation warrants.

Primarily, the task cut out for the EOC is to create indices for measuring inequality in different sectors of activity and among different sections; collect, evaluate and disseminate data; and intervene on behalf of deprived and discriminated groups.

Norm in democracies

While determining the structure and functions of the EOC, the expert group examined similar establishments elsewhere in the world. The experts found that the EOCs were becoming a norm in leading democracies with social and cultural diversities. While several models were available – Australia, Brazil, Canada, France and the U. S., to name a few – the group found the South African and British models of particular value.

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