Over 47K complaints filed with NCSC; caste, land disputes among issues

Over 47,000 complaints have been received by the National Commission for Scheduled Caste in the last four years, according to official data, with atrocities against Dalits, and disputes related to land and governments jobs being the main issues.

As per information shared by the NCSC in response to an RTI filed by PTI, 11,917 complaints were received in 2020-21, 13,964 complaints registered in 2021-22, 12,402 in 2022-23 and 9,550 complaints so far in 2024.

Speaking to PTI about the data, NCSC chairperson Kishor Makwana said the most common complaints received by the commission are related to atrocities against the Scheduled Castes community, followed by land disputes and issues related to services in the government sector.

"In a bid to address the complaints speedily, from next month, me or my members would be visiting the state offices and looking into the issues faced by the people there," he said.

Makwana added that he is holding hearings four times a week to meet people and listen to their problems.

"Since I have taken charge, I have ensured that my office remains open to meet people," he said.

A senior NCSC official said the highest number of complaints have been filed from Uttar Pradesh among all states. The commission receives 200-300 complaints every day and many of them get resolved within days, so the data seen here is mostly of the complaints that are in the process of getting their resolution, the official said.

"There is not a single complaint that has been left unattended. They all are under consideration," he said.

According to the data from the national helpline on atrocities against people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, 6,02,177 calls were received. Out of these, the total number of grievances stood at 5,843, of which 1,784 have been resolved.

More than half of calls have been received from Uttar Pradesh at 3,10,623. This helpline is monitored by the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.

According to the latest government report under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the majority of atrocities against Scheduled Caste were concentrated in 13 states, which reported 97.7 per cent of all cases in 2022.

Of 51,656 cases registered under the law in 2022, Uttar Pradesh accounted for 23.78 per cent of the total cases with 12,287, followed by Rajasthan at 8,651 (16.75 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh at 7,732 (14.97 per cent).

Other states with a significant number of cases of caste atrocities were Bihar with 6,799 (13.16 per cent), Odisha with 3,576 (6.93 per cent), and Maharashtra with 2,706 (5.24 per cent). These six states accounted for nearly 81 per cent of the total cases.