NCM slams Guj govt for riot victims' hardships

New Delhi, Oct 24: A four-member NCM team, which visited Gujarat to inquire about the condition of the 2002 riot victims living in makeshift camps, observed that the inmates were denied the most rudimentary civic amenities, and accused the state government of abdicating its basic responsibility to mitigate their hardships.

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) team, comprising Vice-Chairperson Michel Pinto, members Dileep Padgaonkar and Zoya Hasan, and Joint Secretary A. Banerjee, noted that the state government had provided no amenities or facilities in the camps nor had it made any attempt to facilitate the return of the affected families, in a safe environment, to their original homes.

The NCM will soon be submitting a detailed report to the Central Government on its observations and recommendations on the situation existing in the camps.

''The camps do not have potable water, sanitary facilities, streetlights, schools, primary health centres and approach roads,'' said the NCM team members who visited Gujarat during October 13-17.

The purpose of the visit was to investigate a complaint from an Ahmedabad-based NGO about the condition of 5307 families displaced in the 2002 post-Godhra riots and living in makeshift camps built for them by community organisations and NGOs.

The team members, who called on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, visited 17 of the 46 camps in which the riot-affected families are living, and held discussions with representatives of civil society, NGOs and senior government officials.

The members noted that an overwhelming number of families living in the camps did not have ration cards. ''The few who have them are in the above poverty line (APL) category and their request for below poverty line (BPL) cards has been repeatedly turned down.

As a result, they are unable to obtain foodgrains, cereals and kerosene at subsidised rates.'' Castigating the state government for the plight of the victims, the NCM said such a situation had accentuated their hardship because as a result of their displacement, most of the residents lost their means of livelihood and were now subsisting on daily wages.

In their discussions with Mr Modi and state government officials, the team was informed that the inmates were living in the camps voluntarily.

''In view of the overwhelmning evidence to the contrary, the Commission finds this viewpoint untenable and evasive of a government's basic responsibility. The Commission cannot avoid the feeling that the State Government is not fulfilling its constitutional responsibility and that even four and a half years after the riots, it has not been able to create an atmosphere in which those displaced by the riots can return to their homes.''

UNI