SHILLONG: The chairperson of State Commission of Protection of Child Rights, Meena Kharkongor, whose tenure ended on February 28, has called for approval of child protection policy.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Kharkongor said the need to frame the child protection policy was taken up with the government in the past and a draft was also submitted.
However, the government wanted the child rights panel to incorporate more points which were also fulfilled.
Despite these measures, the government is yet to approve the policy.
While over one thousand cases under POCSO are pending in various courts, Kharkongor wanted speedy disposal of cases so that the victims get justice.
There is concern over prosecutors not being trained to follow up on POCSO cases.
Kharkongor was first appointed as the panel chief in 2014 and after her three-year tenure ended in 2017, she was reappointed.
For the last six years, she had taken a series of measures to improve the plight of children. Her important interventions were the move to streamline Pinemount School, following up on victims’ compensation scheme. She had also filed PILs in the High Court of Meghalaya for the rights of children.
With the support of NCPCR, she had also carried out many awareness programmes on various issues related to children.
Kharkongor was also instrumental in engaging police personnel to be more sensitive to cases related to crime against children which helped them to register such cases without any delay.
