This government organ meant for protection of women and children has no office and is forced to function from under a Chinar tree in the lawns of the Old Assembly Complex here.
The office space for employees of the Jammu and KashmirState Commission for Protection of Women and Child Rights, previously known asWomen’s Commission, has been handed over to the newly constituted State LawCommission.
But the SCPWCR was not allotted an alternate space afterbeing asked to vacate it for the SLC.
Secretary of the rights body said, “As of now we haven’tbeen provided with an accommodation. Our files and other stuff is there in theoffice, but the office doesn’t belong to us now. We are sitting under theChinar from past couple of days.”
“We have written to Principal Secretary and he said we willbe provided an office.”
The employees of the Commission are obviously feelingaggrieved.
“Like every year after the Darbar gets shifted to Srinagar,we came to office, but to our surprise we found that our office has been takenover by the Law Commission. We don’t have an issue with that, but we shouldalso be provided with an accommodation. Sitting in lawns doesn’t lookappropriate,” said an employee of SCPWCR.
In June last year, after J&K came under Governor’s rule,chairperson of the State Women’s Commission resigned, as per the convention andsince then the commission has been headless.
Earlier the commission was without a head for seven years, until2010.
In March this year, the government amended the StateCommission for Women Act, 1999, and enacted the Jammu and Kashmir StateCommission for Protection of Women and Child Rights Act, 2018.
The new law broadened the ambit and scope of the activitiesof the Commission.
As per the amended act, “The Commission has the power toinvestigate, examine and review all matters relating to the safeguard providedfor women and children rights under the constitution and any laws for the timebeing in force for their protection and recommend measures for their effectiveimplementation.”
The commission has been provided with the powers of a civilcourt and is required to submit an annual report to the state government aswell as special report when an issue needs immediate attention