The State government would soon decide on conferring powers to the State Minorities Commission on par with that of a civil court to deal with cases related to the problems faced by Minority communities, said its chairperson Balkhees Banu.
The commission had requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to confer civil powers to it. The government was likely to take a decision in this regard during the next meeting of the State cabinet, she said at a press conference here on Thursday.
At present, the commission was recommending to the government to initiate measures for the uplift of the Minorities. The civil powers would help the commission deal effectively with cases related to atrocities on Minorities. After the civil powers were vested, the commission could summon the officials concerned during the probe related to cases of atrocities on Minorities and direct them to take appropriate action, she said.
It had come to the notice of the commission that many innocent Muslim youths were framed in false cases during communal violence. The commission had proposed to set up a legal aid cell to extend legal assistance to such victims.
The State government had agreed to release Rs. 1 crore for setting up a legal aid cell, Ms. Banu said.
The commission had recommended to the State government to establish residential schools across the State to avoid dropouts of students from Minority communities.
The State government had announced to establish five such schools in the its budget for 2015-16, she said.
