The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended the constitution of a tribunal to compensate victims of pesticide contamination, mainly endosulfan, its chairperson K.G. Balakrishnan has said.
The former Chief Justice of India was speaking to journalists at the conclusion of a three-day sitting and open hearing of the commission here on Friday.
The commission called for reports on infant deaths in the tribal areas of Attappady and Wayanad district. It also called for reports on stray dog menace in the State.
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The NHRC’s special rapporteur tasked to study the unique situation at Attappady had urged better coordination of welfare schemes and setting up of community kitchens to address malnutrition among the tribes.
Complaints regarding police mistreatment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were far and few in Kerala.
One allegation of orphanage children being press-ganged for bonded labour proved to be false. NHRC member Cyriac Joseph said it might be true that orphanages run by certain managements in Kerala imported children from other States to show numbers, perhaps for the purpose of raising funds. But the act itself could not be construed as human trafficking as long as it did not involve bonded labour, servitude, denial of education or sexual exploitation.
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Complaints galore
The Commission also held discussions with the State government on rights issues ranging from prison reforms and juvenile justice to problems faced by the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), women and children, and migrant labourers in Kerala. It heard complaints regarding stray dog menace, anomalies in ration distribution, infant deaths, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and malnutrition in tribal settlements.
Non-allotment of land to the landless and the gamut of indignities and oppression faced in varying degrees by the marginalised and poor sections of society, in general, came up for the commission’s quick perusal.
The NHRC heard over 85 complaints and it set a deadline of less than one month for the government to file action taken/compliance reports. They included non-payment of pension, non-registration of police complaints and delay in transferring allotted land to the SCs/STs.
The NHRC considered five cases of death in police custody. Two were from Thiruvananthapuram and one each from Kollam, Thrissur, and Kasaragod.
It awarded a compensation of Rs.2,50,000 each in three cases. In one case, the commission said it was not satisfied with the Police Department’s statement of facts and asked to show cause why compensation should not be given to the victim on the ground of official negligence.
The commission gave the government one-month to reply whether all the children housed in orphanages in Kerala were truly orphans and if not whether the orphanage managements had consent letters from the parents concerned. The NHRC expressed grave concern over the migration of tribes in Wayanad district to neighbouring Tamil Nadu for low paid odd jobs that carried the risk of servitude, torture, and wanton cruelty. The Labour Department has been given two weeks to address the issue.
The Commission members held closed-door discussions with the Chief Secretary and the State Police Chief earlier in the day.