Kerala hasn't paid a penny to victims

Kochi: A reply under the Right To Information Act reveals that even after two years of launching the much hyped Kerala Victim Compensation Scheme the government so far has not paid a single rupee to the victims.

The government formulated the Scheme on February 24, 2014. The objective of the scheme was to provide funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim or his/her dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who requires rehabilitation.

Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) gave the reply to RTI activist Dhanraj S. of Kochi. KELSA however claimed that they are planning to disburse an amount of '21.5 lakh to the various district legal service societies.

The state government had submitted before Kerala High Court that Rs 25 lakh was sanctioned to Kerala State Legal Service Society under the scheme. Interestingly, the state made the submission as early as in February last year but till date KELSA has not granted any compensation to any victim. The RTI reply was given on March 2.

The government had entrusted KELSA with the disbursement of compensation and fund shall be operated by the member secretary, KELSA. Under the scheme, the compensation for death due to crime is Rs 5 lakh, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder Rs 3 lakh, and causing death by negligence Rs 2 lakh.

Rape victims would be entitled to get up to Rs 3 lakh while sexual assault victims and minors subjected to physical abuse will get Rs 50,000. The compensation for dowry-related violence can go up to Rs 2 lakh while the amount for the acid attack victims ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh depending on the degree of disfigurement.