SHILLONG: Several rape victims have to wait for long for monetary relief as the earlier Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme was de- notified by the State Government following the recent cabinet decision to revise the scheme to include all sorts of violence against persons.
It was on March 20, 2012, that the Government officially notified the Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme.
The scheme, which was exclusive for the victims of sexual violence, stipulates that while the rape victims can avail upto Rs 50,000, an amount of Rs 25,000 has been fixed for the injury which causes severe mental agony to women and child victims in cases such as human trafficking and kidnapping among others.
The Government has released money only to one Williamnagar gangrape victim.
However, with the State Cabinet on September 4 approving the revised Meghalaya Victim Compensation Scheme to examine all sorts of violence, the old scheme was de-notified.
The scheme will be implemented through the State Legal Service Authority (SLSA) .
An official with SLSA said that there are more than more than 20 applications of rape victims pending to be cleared.
He said that as per the scheme, the person affected will be given Rs 3 lakh.
As per the revised compensation package, the areas of focus have widened as the victims of ethnic clashes, natural calamities and victims of others forms of violence are also eligible for the scheme.
The Cabinet on September 4 had asked the deputy commissioners to create a corpus fund of Rs 20 to-25 lakh in this regard.