Acid attack victims to get Rs 1 lakh extra as aid

PM’S NATIONAL RELIEF FUND

WITH AN aim to provide “immediate relief” to lakhs of acid attacks victims, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved additional financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Under the Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) scheme of the Union Home Ministry, the states are required to pay a minimum amount of Rs 3 lakh to acid attack victims.

The additional assistance provided from PMNRF will be over and above the amount of Rs 3 lakhs. The issue of acid attacks has been taken on a priority basis by the Government of India. The IPC has been amended to include specific provisions on acid attack as an offence,” Home Ministry stated in a recent communication to the chief secretaries of the states and Union Territories.

It further said, “To give immediate temporary relief to the victim, it has been decided to provide additional financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the victims of acid attack.”

According to guidelines, the District Magistrate/deputy Commissioner will have to send a report to the MHA.

“On receipt of the report, the compensation will be deposited in the bank account of the victim within five working days,” the order stated.

As per the format, the victim is also required to provide Aadhaar card details while applying for compensation. According to the latest data of National Crime Records Bureau, UP, MP followed by West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are the least safe states for women where maximum incidents of acid attacks are reported.

The CVCF was set up in 2014 by the Modi government with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crore from the ‘Nirbhaya’ fund.

As per the plan, CVCF supports victims of rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and women killed or injured in the cross-border firing. The compensation will rise by 50 per cent in case the girl is less than 14 years of age, according to MHA.

The scheme, according to MHA officials, was conceived to reduce disparity in quantum of compensation amount notified by different states/uts for victims of similar crimes.