NEW DELHI: Justice J S Verma Committee has recommended largescale changes in the government's emergency response system, but has put its financial burden on aam aadmi's pocket.
Calling into question the government's habit of announcing a new helpline every time some untoward incident happens, the Committee has recommended setting up of one central emergency response (ER) number for all exigencies, including crimes, fire or other disasters.
Interestingly, though, the burden of running this centralized system will be on the common man's telephone bill with additional charges being levied on h/his calls to fund this system.
The report says, "It is recommended that we have a one central ER number so that there is no burden on an average person on the street to remember different numbers for different kinds of ER situations. This is necessary in the context of India as a lot of our population is not adequately literate but they are telephony users...
"The need of the hour is to have a system that puts accountability of the emergency response on to the police and other ER services. The system should be auditable and have a public oversight to see its effectiveness and rectify the shortcomings of the system," it adds.
However, to maintain this system, it suggests: "A possible funding of this PERS (Public Emergency Response System) could come from a nominal surcharge on the existing and future telephony users thus not burdening the exchequer."
The committee has recommended setting up of one ER control centre for every geographical cell (such as metropolitan city) to respond to all emergency situations. It has asked for such systems to be put in place that forward the GPS location and address of the caller to the response team so that immediate help can be reached and prank caller be identified.
It has also asked for police patrol vans to be put under the control of these ER centres which themselves will function under the civilian administration. Other recommendations include making public call logs periodically for better accountability.
The panel has recommended presence of a counselor when the victim is interviewed by the police or medically examined to avoid compounding of her trauma.
It has asked the interviewer (read police) to be non-judgmental and not only avoid blaming the victim for the incident but also prevent her from blaming herself. It has also demanded of the counselor to help the family of the victim to understand that the incident is not the fault of the survivor.
It has suggested that all that the victim says should be believed and she along with her family should be educated about medical consequences and psychological fallouts of the incidents. It has recommended long-term therapy for the victim to come out of the trauma.
It has also cautioned police and doctors that absence of signs of struggle on a victim's body is not a sign of consent.
In case of sexual harassment at workplaces, it has recommended appropriate compensation to the victim to be paid by the company as decided by a tribunal.
Full text of Justice (retired) JS Verma Committee report
Aam aadmi asked to pick up tab for overhaul in emergency response system
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Aam aadmi asked to pick up tab for overhaul in emergency response system
