Not only Scheduled Caste (SC) / Scheduled Tribe associations, but also members of the public belonging to the SC community should bring to the notice of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes any kind of grievance that they have, Latha Priyakumar, Member, said here on Tuesday.
Speaking to The Hindu , she pointed out that even media reports were enough for the Commission to take suo motu action against any atrocities, violation of service safeguards or reservation norms.
Appreciating the efforts of the SC / ST Association of the institution in bringing the issues to the notice of the Commission, Ms. Priyakumar said all associations should be equally proactive.
“The complaints about the institution were that the roster for teaching / non-teaching staff was not followed, enough special drives were not conducted to fill the backlog vacancies that existed since 2008, and some pending scholarship and tuition fee issues, besides others. Meetings were held with the association members and subsequently with the management and they were advised to follow guidelines and hold quarterly meetings with the association members. Once the grievances are addressed across the table, the role of the Commission is reduced,” she said.
Awareness about the Commission should reach the poor and the rural so that more such grievances are aired and addressed, Mr. Priyakumar added.
She said she would be back in Coimbatore after a few weeks for a district-level review with officials to take stock of the development of scheduled caste people, which would include reservation and service safeguards in education and workplaces, utilisation of funds, scholarships, educational loans and atrocities by police.
