CHENNAI: The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department is working towards establishing a dedicated call centre to allow Dalits to register complaints under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The call centre will also provide legal guidance to those who face caste discrimination.
The initiative comes after Minister for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj made an announcement in the Assembly while addressing demands for grants to her department in April. The minister emphasised the establishment of a facility to help Adi Dravidars and tribals file cases and get legal guidance.
According to sources, the Union government has enacted several laws and rules, including the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act of 1955, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, and the Amendment Act of 2015 to help people. These, along with the Prevention of Atrocities Rules of 1995 and Amended Rules of 2016 and 2018, are being implemented in Tamil Nadu to offer relief and rehabilitation to victims of untouchability and caste atrocities.
Detailing the implementation of the Acts, sources said the social justice and human rights wing monitors the implementation of the Acts in police stations under the supervision of the IG, Assistant Inspector General of Police and 31 DSPs at the state level.
The implementation is monitored at the district level under the supervision of seven assistant commissioners. Despite having such a monitoring system, Dalits are finding it difficult to file cases in connection with atrocities. Sources said the help centre would do away with any difficulty a Dalit might encounter in filing a case.
Kayalvizhi Selvaraj told TNIE, “This will be of great help to Dalits and be a user-friendly mechanism too. It will be inaugurated before the end of June.” Commenting over the efforts of the department, VCK floor leader M Sinthanai Selvan said, “There is also a need for a monitoring mechanism to evaluate the call centre’s functioning. Those filing petitions should immediately be given documents for filing complaints and prompt transfer of complaints to respective police stations for action should be ensured.”
MP Ravikumar from Viluppuram also echoed similar sentiments.