A meeting of the District Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee was held here today under the chairmanship of District Magistrate Jammu, Dr Rakesh Minhas to review the implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.

Senior Superintendent of Police Jammu, Joginder Singh; Additional District Development Commissioner Sher Singh; Additional Deputy Commissioner Vidhu Shekhar; Additional Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Dr Rajesh Kumar, Block Development Officer Bhalwal Dr Sunil Sharma, along with representatives of social organisations, including R.K. Kalsotra, State President, All India Confederation of SC/ST/OBC Organisations J&K; Yashpal Shivgotra, Retired Superintendent, Central Water Commission; Keshav Chopra, Samvedna Society NGO and Amit Kumar, DISHA Volunteer Organisation attended the meeting.

At the outset, District Social Welfare Officer, Dr Preeti Sharma gave a detailed briefing regarding the status of registered cases under the Acts.

The Committee thoroughly reviewed 11 cases. After careful scrutiny, 2 cases were approved for compensation as FIRs have been registered in these matters. The aggrieved persons would be provided compensation of Rs 25,000 each as per the provisions of the law. The remaining cases were earmarked for further investigation to ensure compliance with legal procedures.

 The District Magistrate emphasised the need for timely disposal of cases and directed the concerned departments to ensure strict implementation of the legislation to safeguard rights of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.