by Haryananewswire
CHANDIGARH, OCT 25
The Haryana Government has notified the Haryana State Commission for
Women Act ,2012 to constitute Haryana State Commission for Women and provide
for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
While stating this today, Director General, Women and Child
Development Department, Mrs Sumita Misra said that the Act has been enacted to
strengthen the State Women Commission by providing it the statutory status. The
Act has been enforced in the entire State and the Government would constitute a
body known as the Haryana State Commission for Women to exercise the powers
conferred on, and perform the functions assigned to it under the Act.
Mrs Misra said that the enactment of the Act was
necessitated because as per the existing status of the Commission, it did not
exercise all the powers of a civil court trying to suit like summoning,
enforcing the attendance, requiring the production of any document, receiving
evidence on Affidavit, examination of witnesses and documents, implementation
of laws enacted to provide protection to women, compliance of policy decision,
guidelines aimed at mitigating hardships and ensuring welfare and providing
relief to women.
She said that the Commission would consist of a
Chairperson, who would be a woman, committed to the cause of women, to be
nominated by the Government. It will also have a Vice-Chairperson and a maximum
of five members to be nominated by the Government from amongst persons of
ability, integrity and standing who have experience in law, legislation, trade
unionism, management of industry or organization committed to increase
the employment potential for women, women’s voluntary organizations
(including women activists) administration, economic development, health,
education or social welfare. At least one member shall be from amongst persons
belonging to the Scheduled Castes.
Its Member Secretary will be nominated by the Government preferably from
amongst the women officers of the Indian Administrative Services or the Haryana
Civil Service, not below the rank of Joint or Deputy Secretary to the
Government.The Administrative Secretary of Women and Child Development, Haryana
shall be a special invitee. Director, Women and Child Development, Haryana and
the Director General of Police of Haryana shall be ex-officio members of the
Commission. The majority of the members of the Commission shall be women.
The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and every nominated Member
would hold office for such period, not exceeding three years, as might be
specified by the Government in this behalf. The Chairperson, Vice
Chairperson and Non-Official member shall on attaining the age of 65 years
cease to hold the office. The status of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
shall be the same as that of the status of the Financial Commissioner and
Principal Secretary and the status of a nominated member shall be equivalent to
the Joint Secretary in the Haryana Government Department respectively. The
member may resign from his office by giving a notice in writing under his hand
addressed to the Government. However, the Government shall remove a member from
his office, if he becomes an undercharged insolvent; gets convicted and
sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which in the opinion of
the Government involves moral turpitude; gets involved in a criminal case
or charges are framed against him; becomes of unsound mind and stands so
declared by a competent court; refuses to act or becomes incapable of
acting; is without obtaining leave of absence from the Commission,
absents himself for three consecutive meetings of the Commission; or in
the opinion of the Government, has so abused the position as to render that
person’s continuance in office detrimental to the public interest or interest
of women. No such person shall be removed under this clause until that person
has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter.
A vacancy caused under sub-section (2) or otherwise shall be filled up by fresh
nomination. The salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and
conditions of service of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and Members
shall be such as may be prescribed.
The Government shall provide the Commission with such officers and employees,
as may be necessary, for the efficient performance of the functions of the
Commission under this Act. The salaries and allowances payable to, and the
other terms and conditions of service of the officers and other employees
appointed for the purpose of the Commission shall be such as may be prescribed.
No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be questioned or shall be invalid
on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy, absence of member or
defect in the constitution of the Commission.
The Commission may appoint such Committees, as may be necessary, for dealing
with such special issues as may be taken up by the Commission from time to
time. The Commission shall have the power to co-opt as members of any
committee appointed under sub-section (1), such number of persons, who are not
members of the Commission, as it may think fit and the persons so co-opted
shall have the right to attend the meetings of the Committee and take part in
its proceedings but shall not have the right to vote. The persons so co-opted
shall be entitled to receive such allowances for attending the meetings of the
committee, as may be prescribed.
The Commission or a committee thereof, as the case may be, shall meet as
and when necessary and shall meet at such time and place, as deemed fit. The
Commission shall regulate its own procedure and the procedure of the committees
thereof or as is prescribed. All orders and decisions of the Commission shall
be authenticated by the Member Secretary or any other officer of the Commission
duly authorized by the Member Secretary in this behalf.
As far as the functions of the Commission are concerned, it would investigate
and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the
Constitution and other laws; present to the Government, annually and at such
other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those
safeguards; make in such reports recommendations for the effective
implementation of those safeguards for improving the conditions of women by the
State; review, from time to time, the existing provisions of the Constitution
and other laws affecting women and recommend amendments thereto so as to
suggest remedial legislative measures to meet any lacunae, inadequacies or
shortcomings in such legislations; take up the cases of violation of the
provisions of the Constitution and of other laws, relating to women with the
appropriate authorities.
The Commission will also look into complaints and take suo moto notice of
matters relating to deprivation of women’s rights; non-implementation of laws
enacted to provide protection to women and also to achieve the objective of
equality and development; non-compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or
instructions aimed at mitigating hardships and ensuring welfare and providing
relief to women, and take up the issues arising out of such matters with
appropriate authorities. It will also call for special studies or
investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of
discrimination and atrocities against women and identify the constraints so as
to recommend strategies for their removal; undertake promotional and
educational research so as to suggest ways of ensuring due representation of
women in all spheres and identify factors responsible for impeding their
advancement, such as, lack of access to housing and basic services, inadequate
support services and technologies for reducing drudgery and occupational health
hazards and for increasing their productivity; participate and advise on the
planning process of socio-economic development of women.
The Commission will also monitor and review the women related schemes and
programmes in the state and evaluate the progress of the development of women
under the state; inspect or cause to be inspected Police Stations, jail, remand
home, women’s institution or other place of custody where women are kept as
prisoners or otherwise, and take up with the concerned authorities for remedial
action, if found necessary. It will call for data from any organization on
various issues or aspects of journey of women towards development, empowerment
and accessibility, including growth and hurdles faced by them from individual,
family or society. It will make periodical reports to the Government on any
matter pertaining to women and in particular various difficulties under which
women toil; any other matter which may be referred to it by the Government and
shall furnish comments and recommendations on any report of the National
Commission for Women on any matter with which the Government is concerned as
the Government may call for.
The Government shall cause all the reports referred to in clause (b) of
sub-section (1) to be laid before the State Legislature along with a memorandum
explaining the action taken. The Commission shall, while investigating any
matter referred to in clause (a) or sub-clause (i) of clause (f) of sub-section
(1), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and, in particular, in
respect of the matters including summoning and enforcing the attendance of any
person from any part of India and examining him on oath; requiring the
discovery and production of any document; receiving evidence on affidavits;
requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any public office and any
other matter which may be prescribed.
The Government shall, after due appropriation made by Legislature by law in
this behalf, pay to the Commission by way of grants or budgetary support out of
consolidated funds of the State for being utilized for the purposes of this
Act. The Commission may spend such sums as it thinks fit for performing the
functions under this Act, and such sums shall be treated as expenditure payable
out of the grants or budgetary support referred to in sub-section (1). The
Commission shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and
prepare an annual statement of accounts in such form as may be prescribed by
the Government. The accounts of the Commission shall be audited by the
Accountant General (Audit), Haryana at such intervals as may be specified
by the Government and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit
shall be payable by the Commission. The accounts of the Commission, as
certified by Accountant General (Audit), Haryana or any other person appointed
by him in this behalf together with the audit report there on shall be
forwarded to the Government by the Commission.
The Commission shall prepare, in such form and at such time, for each financial
year, as may be prescribed, its annual report, giving a full account of its
activities during the previous financial year and forward a copy thereof to the
Government which shall be a part of the Annual Administrative Report of the
Women and Child Development Department.
The Government may consult the Commission on all major policy matters
affecting women.
