Gujarat: Victim Survivor Group delegation to Meet Union Home Minister and Other Political Leaders

CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE-SAHMAT


April 4, 2007

Press Invite


Victim Survivor Group delegation to Meet Union Home Minister and Other Political Leaders

A delegation of two dozen representatives of victim survivors from 12 districts in Gujarat, members of Citizens for Justice and Peace, will take a delegation to the Union Home Minister, Shri Shivraj Patil on April 5, 2007, welcoming the UPA government‚s compensation package for the Gujarat victims of 2002 and also urging that the following issues also be taken into consideration so as to enhance the package and include the subtler and wider dimensions of the tragedy.

The delegation will present a signature campaign from 7,500 victim survivors following a meeting in Ahmedabad on March 1, 2007

Press Meet
Thereafter they will address a press meet at SAHMAT at 5.30 p.m. on Thursday 5th April 2007. You are requested to depute your representative to cover the meet.

The delegation on behalf of over 7,500 victim survivors has urged the enhancement of the compensation package.

Enhance the Compensation Package

A. Death Compensation: As already clarified, the Central Government does not accept the State Government‚s figure of 1044 people (only) as dead. Estimate is 2,500 persons died (including 400 who are missing) In the delegation itself there are two victim survivors who lost their husbands who have not received any death compensation from the government. Similarly victim survivors group, the CJP that was authorized by the Gujarat High Court to collect district wise data of life and property damage will provide the date, backed by panchnamas and FIRs to the Central Government.
B. Injured Compensation: That the Centre does not also lay credence to state government‚s only 2,584 injured. In our delegation, there are two women who were badly burned who also have not received any compensation. Besides inury compensation should include those injuries that have not led to permanent disability.
C. Housing Compensation: In March 2003, both CJP and CC ˆvictim survivor groups--have prepared and compiled comprehensive data that has been filed in the Gujarat High Court ( Citizens for Justice and Peace and Communalism Combat versus State of Gujarat,3217/2003 ongoing in the Gujarat High Court) demonstrating to the Court that the contentions of the state of Gujarat are malafide in the act of returning as much as Rs 19-odd crores to the Centre; In this petition, even the meager amount of compensation for house damage (when the scheme announced Rs 50,000 per house damaged) barely 20 per cent of those who's homes have been destroyed have received the full amount. Hence we urge that 1) Housing Compensation as declared, meager as it is (Rs 50,000) is paid to all) and that the Centre declares that this amount of Rs 50,000 is woefully inadequate and ˆrelying on FIRs or Panchnamas˜declares a higher package for Housing Compensation.
D. Expand Compensation Package for Victims of Sexual Violence: No Compensation for victims of brutal sexual violence: The Centre must expand his scheme to include compensation for at least 400 women and girls who were brute victims of sexual violence. We urge that the Central Compensation scheme is expanded to include this.
E. Internally Displaced Refugees: There has been no acknowledgement and reparation for over 10,000 persons in Gujarat today live as abandoned internally displaced persons in their own land with no right to legal housing (the homes given by relief camps built by their own community do not have a legally verified status), without BPL cards and without ration cards. They have in effect been denied basic citizenship rights. The Centre must ensure that their new places of residence are 1) transferred in their names; 2) they receive state government papers including ration cards and BPL cards ; 3) that they are on the state‚s electoral rolls. It appears that the state is reluctant to re-house and rehabilitate them with full-fledged rights as internally displaced refugees.

Teesta Setalvad

Ram Rahman