Chhattisgarh Project

The Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission was set up in September 2001 and started functioning in November 2001 with a 30 odd staff deputed from different departments of the State Government. The Commission started with an initial contingency budget of 30 lakhs from the State Government, which was later increased to 80 lakhs from a planned budget for 2002-2003. The Government has been supportive and has provided the SHRC with its own premises. The Commission has started building up a computerised database. Skill upgradation of the staff has also been initiated.

CHRI has worked in Chhattisgarh in partnership with the Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission (CGHRC) since June 2002. The result of the first strategy workshop in Raipur in June 2002 was that along with the CGHRC, CHRI should focus on:

• Initiating a debate on the need for police reforms through workshops and
• Facilitate work at a Model Police Station, which would specifically look into the best practices of community policing through a hands on project.
• and educate people on their rights and sensitise the police on human rights issues.

Due to the awareness of the Commission's existence the volume of cases have increased over the last few years. With the increase in the workload there is not enough adequate increase in the staff strength especially the investigative wing. CHRI shares information with the staff on a regular basis. CHRI has also completed a user's guide to Human Rights Commissions.

CHRI has conducted training programmes for the staff of the Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission on the 3rd November 2003 and at the police sensitisation programmes. The target group has always been the middle level functionaries of the SHRC with the aim to familiarize the staff with human rights concepts and norms.

CHRI had a formal working partnership with the Commission from 2002-2006 March. After discussions with the Commission it is felt that an event-to-event collaboration maybe attempted from April 2006. Presently a radio series is being broadcast on Chinhari Adhikar Aur Zimawar on All India Radio, Raipur.

Despite the constraints of the Commission's work like its dependence on finance, staff numbers and support of the State Government, the Commission is taking bold steps like registering thousands of complaints of human rights violations. Its workload is steadily increasing and it has shown interest in entering previously unexplored areas of work around people's welfare, especially that of the marginalized and vulnerable. Keeping these in the forefront, the Commission has given some directions to the State Government and the Police Department. The State Commission has acknowledged in its newsletters and other communications that its collaboration with CHRI has grounded the Commission in its work, helping it to build a profile and enter a difficult area of reform, which it would not have undertaken without CHRI's persistence.

Case Statistics of Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission 2004

Flyer published with the Chhattisgarh State Human Rights