Biswas emphasizes proactive grievance redressal for vulnerable sections
Srinagar|Oct, 27: Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Shomita Biswas today convened a high-level review meeting at the Civil Secretariat here to assess the overall human rights scenario and the implementation of welfare safeguards especially related to Social Welfare, Health and Prisons Departments of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
The meeting was attended by senior administrative and police officers. Those who attended includes IGP, Personal (Hq); Secretary in Social Welfare; Mission Director, Mission Poshan; Mission Director, Mission Vatsalya & Shakti in Social Welfare Department; DIG, CID; Superintendent of Police, Central Jail, Srinagar; HoD, Psychiatry, GMC Srinagar and among other senior officials.
The departments present provided detailed presentations regarding institutional mechanisms, ongoing legal protections, and targeted public welfare initiatives designed to protect the rights of the citizens, with a particular focus on underprivileged and vulnerable segments of the society.
During the session, Mission Director, Mission Poshan, Sajad Hussain Ganai, provided a comprehensive appraisal concerning the protection of child rights throughout the Union Territory. He detailed the various initiatives underway to augment health, immunization, and nutritional coverage for children under the Poshan framework.
Additionally, he briefed the chair on the systematic disbursement of academic scholarships specifically structured to support and sustain students coming from socio-economically marginalized background categories.
Similarly, Mission Director for Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti, Rubina Kousar, presented an extensive overview of the overarching regulatory mechanisms and active support infrastructure designed for destitute, abandoned, and distressed women across Jammu & Kashmir. She highlighted the extensive statutory frameworks operationalized under the juvenile justice system, highlighting institutional measures to secure complete child protection and prevent instances of atrocities against minors and women.
Providing the perspective of law enforcement, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Personnel (Hq), Uttam Chand, delivered a detailed appraisal on the maintenance of human rights standards within prison facilities and the safeguarding of under-trial and convicted prisoners.
He shared data regarding precise legal interventions and the rigorous operational steps taken by law enforcement agencies to legally enforce the constitutional and human rights of vulnerable groups, ensuring swift action against any reported atrocities.
Addressing the healthcare delivery landscape, Prof. (Dr.) Arshad Hussain, Head of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), GMC Srinagar, threw light on the mental health infrastructure across the Union Territory. He outlined current service patterns, localized delivery gaps, and structural expansions currently being undertaken.
Dr. Hussain highlighted the transformative prospects slated for the region’s mental health sector following the completion of several major development projects presently in progress.
Following the multi-departmental briefings, the Special Rapporteur, NHRC, expressed satisfaction over the structural safeguards, welfare programs, and collaborative enforcement steps executed by the respective departments.
Further the Special Rapporteur enjoined upon the concerned departments and police officers to adopt a more proactive approach in reaching out to rural and marginalized sections of the society.
She advised the line departments to constantly refine their grievance redressal mechanisms to guarantee that public concerns, particularly those involving vulnerable classes, are processed in a highly professional, smooth, and prompt manner.
