Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Feb 5: Over one and a half month since its constitution, the Selection Committee of J&K Government that was tasked with completing the process of appointment of a Chairperson and Members of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights in Jammu and Kashmir, has not made any headway yet, official sources said.
Pertinently, the procedure for constitution of a committee that will recommend a Chairperson and Members of the Commission to the Government has been laid down in Rule 4(1) of the Jammu and Kashmir Commission for Protection of Child Rights Rules notified vide SO-542 of the Social Welfare Department, Jammu and Kashmir Government, dated October 21, 2022.
Strictly in accordance with the rules, the General Administration Department, through an order issued on December 16, 2022, made the Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir as the Chairperson of the committee and Administrative Secretary, Social Welfare Department and Secretary, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, as the members of the committee.
“The committee of the officers was asked to follow the procedure prescribed in the Jammu and Kashmir Child Rights Commission Rules, 2022 and make selection of the chairperson and member(s) of the Child Rights Commission.
“The panel was also asked to prepare a select list of the eligible people for the posts of chairperson and members and submit their recommendations to the Government for making the appointments,” official sources said.
They said the committee was also asked to prepare a wait list of two persons for each of the posts (Chairperson and Member) to complete the appointment process.
“But thus far, even applications have not been invited from the interested and eligible candidates,” sources added.
One of the panel members, Sheetal Nanda, the Administrative Secretary, Social Welfare Department, Jammu and Kashmir Government, confirmed to the Excelsior that the process has not been initiated yet.
“No, the committee hasn’t initiated the process yet. But very soon, we will put up the file with Chief Secretary, Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, who will accordingly lay down the criteria of selections,” Nanda said.
The other member of the committee, Achal Sethi, Secretary, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Jammu and Kashmir, also confirmed that the process has not been started yet to appoint a Chairperson and members of the Commission.
For the process to begin, sources said, the Government needs to invite applications from the qualified candidates from the public through an advertisement issued in at least two national and vernacular dailies.
“The Government shall accordingly prepare a short list from the applications so received and the shortlisted candidates shall be selected on merit and interview basis by the Selection Committee headed by Chief Secretary,” they said, adding, “then the selected candidates shall be recommended to the Government by the Selection Committee to complete the process of appointment.”
Once established, the Commission for Protection of Child Rights shall function full-time as an independent and autonomous body. The Chairperson and Member(s) of the Commission shall hold the office for a period of three years or till they attain the age of 65 and 60 years, whichever is earlier. The minimum age for the post of both Chairperson and member(s) is 35 years.
Besides dealing with the complaints related to violation of child rights, the Commission will also analyse existing law policy and practice to assess compliance with convention on the rights of child, undertake inquiries and produce reports on any aspect of policy and practice affecting children and comment on proposed new legislation from a child rights perspective; study Union Territory policies that impact children and ensure that they comply with international child rights standards; undertake formal investigations where concern has been expressed either by children themselves or by concerned person on their behalf; produce and disseminate information about child rights, compile and analyse date on children; promote the incorporation of child rights into the school curriculum, teachers training and training of personnel dealing with children; make regional visits and hold public meetings at least once in every year in all regions of the UT, besides others.
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