SRINAGAR: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Special Rapporteur Shomita Biswas on Tuesday reviewed the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir, with a focus on safeguards and welfare measures implemented by the Social Welfare, Health and Prisons departments.
The review meeting, held at the Civil Secretariat in Srinagar, was attended by senior administrative and police officers, who presented details of institutional mechanisms, legal protections and welfare initiatives targeting underprivileged and vulnerable sections of society.
The participants included Inspector General of Police (Personnel Headquarters) Uttam Chand, Secretary of the Social Welfare Department, Mission Director Mission Poshan Sajad Hussain Ganai, Mission Director Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti Rubina Kousar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, Superintendent of Central Jail Srinagar and Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, among other officials.
Ganai briefed the meeting on child protection initiatives under Mission Poshan, including measures to improve children’s health, immunisation and nutritional coverage. He also outlined scholarship schemes aimed at supporting students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Kousar presented an overview of support mechanisms for destitute, abandoned and distressed women, along with measures under Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti. She also highlighted statutory safeguards under the juvenile justice system and institutional arrangements for protecting children and women from abuse.
Chand outlined measures to safeguard the rights of undertrial and convicted prisoners and maintain human rights standards in prison facilities. He also briefed the meeting on legal interventions and enforcement measures undertaken to protect the constitutional and human rights of vulnerable groups and respond to reported atrocities.
Head of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS), GMC Srinagar, Prof. Arshad Hussain, presented an overview of mental health services across Jammu and Kashmir, identifying service delivery gaps and outlining infrastructure expansion projects under way.
Biswas expressed satisfaction with the safeguards, welfare programmes and interdepartmental coordination outlined during the meeting, according to an official statement.
She urged departments and police officers to strengthen outreach to rural and marginalised communities and make grievance redressal mechanisms more accessible, efficient and responsive. She stressed that complaints, particularly those concerning vulnerable groups, should be addressed promptly and professionally.
