Untouchability and atrocity-free India by 2010

Jaipur, Jan 15 (UNI) Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar said her ministry is working on the realisation of the dream of an untouchability and atrocity-free India by 2010.

The Minister while talking to mediapersons here today said since inter caste marriages are an effective instrument of combating the evil practise of castism an incentive amount for intercaste marriage has been increased to 50,000.

She said the state governments have been asked to evolve a special package on priority basis towards development of atrocity-prone areas so that the propensity to atrocities is checked. The centrally sponsored package includes appropriate income generating beneficiary oriented economic development schemes, effective implementation of land reforms, redressal of land disputes, stringent enforcement of minimum wages as well as the upgradation of infrastructure facilites like construction of roads to have access to the nearest police station, linkage of roads to national highways, accessible toll free public communication linkages with police stations, sensitisation programmes for teachers and panchayati raj functionaries etc.

The minister also said in order to recognise outstanding work in eradicating untouchability a National award to NGOs and individual human rights activists have been constituted by the ministry. Four awards in each of the four regions of the country namely North, south, east and west are to be given annually from the year 2007 with a cash prize of Rs two lakh to Rs 5 lakh to individual activities and institutions.

UNI