TN child rights panel moribund for two years

IN the past two years, the state has witnessed a series of incidents where children have been victims of violence.

- SUBASHINI VIJAYAKUMAR

This includes the attack on two siblings at Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district and the murder of a boy at an observation home in Chengalpattu.

While the government formed one-man committees to recommend measures to tackle underlying issues that led to these incidents, the statutory body-State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR)-responsible for monitoring the effective implementation of important child-related laws and overseeing investigations has been nonfunctional for over two-and-ahalf years now.

The DMK government ordered the reconstitution of the SCPCR in 2022, dismantling the commission appointed by the previous AIADMK government in January 2021-three months before the Assembly election. As the commission's tenure is three years, its members approached the court against the new government's decision. Since then, the SCPCR has been nonfunctional.