Union Minister blames police for honour killings, manual scavenging deaths

Union Minister for Social Justice A Narayanaswamy on Friday blamed “police failure” for honour killings, manual scavenging deaths and low conviction rates in atrocity cases on SC/STs.

“I have no hesitation in saying there’s police failure,” Narayanaswamy, who represents Chitradurga in the Lok Sabha, told reporters after a two-hour-long review meeting with officials on matters concerning social welfare, especially SC/STs.

Narayanaswamy said he asked officials to give him a full report on honour killings and manual scavenging, a practice he said still continues.

Read more: No person currently engaged in manual scavenging: GoI

“There have been 90 manual scavenging deaths in Karnataka till date since 1995. Of these, 39 deaths were in Bengaluru Urban. The official concerned said he had no proper information. I’ve strictly asked for a report on how many officials have been suspended and contractors acted against,” he said.

“I’m not saying it’s not happening. The government is taking various steps and there’s no magic wand,” Narayanaswamy said on manual scavenging.

The minister said providing Rs 10 lakh compensation for manual scavenging deaths is not enough. “All urban local bodies have serious instructions to purchase jetting machines,” he said. “We’re also pushing a scheme in which loans are given to people to buy jetting machines.” He added that an assessment is being done on how many jetting machines are needed to ensure manual scavenging does not occur.

Narayanaswamy further lamented that the conviction rate in cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act is just 3 per cent. “Officials have been asked to increase this rate. There are some 6,000 cases where charge sheets have been filed, but special courts haven’t been set up,” he said.

During the review meeting, Narayanaswamy said he has asked the departments of Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR), Horticulture, Forest and others to work together on a master plan to ensure financial upliftment of Dalit farmers under the Ganga Kalyana scheme.

“Till today, borewell and irrigation facilities worth Rs 53,000 crore have been provided to farmers under Ganga Kalyana. We’re also thinking of ways to encourage Ganga Kalyana across the country,” Narayanaswamy said.

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