Assam: Compensation of more than Rs 24 crore not paid to victims

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: A ‘very sorry state of affairs’ in the state government was apparent after it emerged in the Gauhati High Court that compensation to victims amounting to more than Rs 24 crore has not been paid due to a lack of coordination between the Home and Finance departments. Victims are paid under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012.

This was revealed before the division bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam during the hearing of the case (PIL/7/2024) filed by Sandeep Chamaria.

The writ petition filed by the petitioner, Sandeep Chamaria, in the public interest raised a concern for the non-payment of compensation to the victims under the Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012. An affidavit was filed on behalf of the Assam State Legal Services Authority (ASLSA), wherein it was stated that as of February 17, 2024, the requirement of victim compensation fund in the State of Assam is around Rs 24,16,18,032.

It is submitted by the counsel appearing for the ASLSA that the state government has not provided any funds to be disbursed to the victims for the years 2019–20 to 2022–23. However, in the year 2023, an amount of only Rs. 9 crore has been provided for the purpose of disbursing compensation amongst the victims under the Victim Compensation Scheme.

The bench stated, “We are forced to make a comment that it is a very sorry state of affairs that the compensation is not being disbursed to the victims for lack of funds. The state has its primary responsibility to provide the fund for the disbursement of compensation to the victims.”

It can be stated here that compensation is paid to victims of rape, murder, human trafficking, witch-hunting, etc. ASLSA is the disbursing authority for the funds released by the state government for compensation to victims.

During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the Principal Secretary to the Assam government’s Home & Political Department and the Additional Secretary to the Finance Department prayed for some time to complete their instructions regarding the payment of compensation.

The bench observed, “It appears that there is lack of coordination between the Home as well as the Finance Department, however, we are expecting that by the next date of hearing, with the coordination between the concerned departments, the State of Assam shall come with a definite proposal for the release of the requisite funds to be disbursed to the victims under the Victim Compensation Scheme.”

The bench listed the date for the next hearing as May 20, 2024.

Also Read: Batadraba incident: Dispur apprises Gauhati High Court on payment of compensation (sentinelassam.com)

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