New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on Tuesday took serious cognizance of a complaint regarding the use of objectionable and derogatory terms in the list of Scheduled Castes during the upcoming Census process in Punjab.

The complaint was submitted to NCSC Chairperson Kishore Makwana by the Vice-Chairperson of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, Hardeep Singh Gill.

According to the complaint, the use of derogatory language in reference to the Valmiki community during the census process has triggered outrage among members of the community.

Considering the sensitivity of the issue, the Commission acted promptly and issued notices to the concerned departments.

The NCSC has ordered the Director of the Directorate of Census Operations, Punjab, and the Principal Secretary of the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, Government of Punjab, to submit an action taken report within 15 days.

Chairperson Kishore Makwana stated that protecting the honour, rights, and dignity of Scheduled Castes remains the Commission’s highest priority. He added that the Commission would take further necessary action based on the report submitted by the concerned authorities and the measures taken in the matter.

Earlier in March, the NCSC had also raised concerns regarding the implementation of welfare schemes for Scheduled Castes in Punjab following a two-day review meeting with senior government officials in Chandigarh.

At the time, Makwana had stated that the condition of Scheduled Castes in Punjab required “urgent corrective steps.” The Commission had highlighted several issues, including irregularities in scholarship disbursement, non-implementation of central welfare schemes, rising school dropout rates among SC students, and shortcomings in atrocity prevention mechanisms.

The Commission had also pointed out lapses in the handling of cases registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. According to the NCSC, many complaints were allegedly dismissed at police stations without FIRs being registered.

–IANS

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