New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have topped the list of states which were asked to pay compensation to victims of human rights violation in the past three years, accounting for 57 percent of the Rs 30.48 crore recommended by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
According to NHRC documents, Goa ranks at the bottom of this list along with Arunachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Chandigarh.
The NHRC recommended a total of Rs 30.48 crore in 1,330 cases from 2008-09 to 20010-11 with the last fiscal topping the list by awarding 19.37 crore in 580 cases, the documents said. Rs 6.32 crore was recommended in 399 cases in 2009-10
while Rs 4.78 crore in 351 cases in 2008-09.
The NHRC has received a total of 2.56 lakh complaints during the past three fiscals out of which a whopping 1.56 lakh complaints were from Uttar Pradesh, the documents said.
"There is an increase in the recommendation of compensation in the past three years. We have also increased the compensation component in several cases like the rise to Rs five lakh in custodial death cases from Rs one lakh," a top NHRC official said.
The documents said UP was asked to pay a compensation of Rs 9.5 crore in 614 cases, both the highest in the country, while Gujarat which came second in the list were to pay Rs 7.8 crore in 44 cases.
Bihar and Andhra Pradesh followed these states in the list with Rs 1.6 crore (102 cases) and Rs 1.3 crore (65 cases) respectively.
The Delhi government has been asked to pay a compensation of Rs 74.24 lakh in 62 in the past three years with 2008-09 topping the list with Rs 42.20 lakh in 33 cases.
Himachal Pradesh, which does not have a functional state human rights body, was not asked to pay any compensation last year though in the previous two fiscals it had to shell out Rs six lakh compensation in two cases.
The north-eastern state of Nagaland is the only state which has not been asked to pay any compensation in the past three fiscals. Among Union territories, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep share this honour.
PTI
