CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has appointed Pudukkottai Vijaya, a DMK orator, as the chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).
Six new members — M Casimir Raj, a child rights activist who works with Don Bosco Anbu Illam in Salem; Mona Matilda Basker, a paediatrician who has co-authored a research paper on survivors of child sexual abuse; R Jeya Sudha and V Ushanandini, who had formerly worked with Child Welfare Committees; V Selvendiran, a former member of SC/ST district committee; and Sri Kavya Nagarajan from Coimbatore — have also been appointed to the commission. The appointments have been made more than three years after end of the previous team’s tenure.
While appointments to the commission after such a long gap have been welcomed, child rights activists and civil society members expressed disappointment over the continuing trend of people with political affiliations being appointed to such posts overlooking candidates with proven track record in child welfare. Activists have also urged the government to empower the commission to effectively fulfil its mandate.
“The chairperson post of the key child rights body in the state continues to be treated as a reward for party loyalty, regardless of which political party is in power and the present appointments are not an exception.
“Among the newly appointed members, one is a known child rights activist and two others have prior experience serving on child welfare committees. Two of the remaining appointees, however, have no significant or sustained background in child rights advocacy or related work,” said a child rights activist. Vijaya said that though she has not been actively involved in child rights work, she has been supporting kids in care homes for past 10 years.
Established under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, the SCPCR is tasked with monitoring child rights laws, reviewing government policies and recommending measures for their effective implementation. It is responsible for overseeing four key laws concerning children — Pocso Act, Right to Education (RTE) Act, Juvenile Justice Act, and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Absence of the statutory body for three years had left a gap in addressing serious child rights violations in TN such as rise in cases of sexual violence in schools, child marriage, and caste-based violence (attack on two students in Nanguneri).
Activists had also urged the state to amend the rules of the SCPCR to give it more powers and increase its budget, taking states such as Kerala and Karnataka as examples, when the commission is reconstituted. But these demands have not been met. “Unless the commission is free from political affiliation and has enough funds to function on its own without depending on government departments, it is going to remain a toothless body,” another activist said.
Timeline
January 2021 Commission had remained vacant for nearly a year. During AIADMK tenure, Saraswathi Rangaswamy appointed as SCPCR chief
February 2022 The newly elected DMK government issues an order to reconstitute the SCPCR, dismantling previous commission
March 2022 Members appointed by the AIADMK challenged the G.O. in court. The court stayed the G.O.
February 2024 Previous commission’s tenure completed in January 2024. Legal case comes to a natural close. Applications for the posts were called again