Workplace complaints high with both SC, ST panels : Shyamlal Yadav

Indian Express: New Delhi: Friday, 29 January 2016.

Data received under the RTI Act from various commissions SC/ST Commission, OBC Commission, Safai Karmchari, Women, Human Rights commissions tell a familiar story: of atrocities and discrimination against the socially deprived sections of the society.

Of the 16,175 complaints the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) received in 2014-15, 5,916 were in the ‘Atrocities Prevention and Civil Rights (APCR)’ category. Another 3,829 complaints were related to ‘Service Atrocities’, NCSC sources said. Over 22,000 complaints are pending for disposal.

Though the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) does not receive as many complaints as other commissions, their data reveals that of the 617 complaints it received in 2014-15, 414 were related to ‘Service Matters’.

Of 32,118 complaints received by National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2014-15, 6,946 were under the category, ‘Right to Live with Dignity’; 7,367 were against ‘Police Apathy against Women’ and 2,659 were of ‘Outraging Modesty of Women’. These categories are apart from ‘Dowry Deaths’, ‘Violence against Women’, trafficking, rape and others a total of 19 categories.

The National Human Rights Commission received 1.14 lakh complaints in 2014-15 (see breakup). NHRC said there are over 35,000 complaints pending for disposal. At the National Commission for Minorities (NCM), the majority of complaints are related to ‘law and order’ 38 out of 1,404 in 2014-15.

The National Commission for Safai Karmcharis (NCSK) wrote back, saying it didn’t categorise the complaints it got but that would soon change. “Category-wise details of disposal of complaints are still under preparation.” The commission got 354 complaints in 2013-14 and 1,096 in during 2012-13.

The Indian Express had filed RTI applications to all these commissions, as well as the National Commission for Backward Castes (NCBC). Though the commission was created particularly to hear claims of various castes to be included in to the backward castes, it usually receives complaints of discrimination against OBCs which it forwards to the SC Commission. “NCSC is the competent authority to look into all grievances, right and safeguards relating to backward classes,” NCBC replied to the RTI query. The Commission said it received 521 complaints in 2015 (till October 16), 388 in 2014 and 316 in 2013 and all these were “forwarded to NCSC or replied”.