Kiran Kumar Reddy was the first to speak at the National Integration Council meet chaired by the PM in Delhi.
Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy was the first to speak at the National Integration Council meet chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in Delhi on Monday. The CM dwelt upon the various schemes launched by the government of Andhra Pradesh.
He claimed that Andhra Pradesh's experience "has shown that with political will, courage, commitment of administration at all levels, cooperation of all stakeholders and community empowerment, communal peace and harmony can be ensured".
"The government of Andhra Pradesh has evolved Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the maintenance of communal harmony, preventive actions to be taken, tackling of communal disturbances, and rehabilitation of victims of communal violence," he said.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the state government has ensured the tackling of emergent situations with "objectivity, impartiality and quick response".
"The state government has launched a state-wide centralised 'Dial 100' project, wherein any citizen from any part of the state can access police help in an emergency through a single 3-digit number, '100'. This will facilitate better service delivery for citizens, especially disadvantaged sections, including SCs, STs, women, and minorities, by bringing in accountability in the police," he said.
He said the the state government is planning more police stations exclusively manned by women officers, and that it is also planning to increase the percentage of women in the police force.
The Chief Minister said that a women's helpline is being maintained by the police department. "The helpline provides counselling and other required help to women in distress," he said.
"The A P State Women Commission provides a platform to address the problems of women. It safeguards the constitutional rights of women, takes up review and recommends suitable amendments to the existing laws," he added.
Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the state government is implementing the Protection Of Women From Domestic Violence Act 2005, which offers various relief measures to victims of domestic violence. "So far, about 23,040 petitions have been received, and 49% cases were settled through counselling," he stated..
Reddy claimed that AP has witnessed substantial reduction in the number of cases of atrocities against SCs/STs, from 4,321 in 2010 to 3,057 in 2012. Prevention of Atrocities (POA) cases have reduced from 1,509 in 2010 to 801 in 2012, he added.
The CM also said that Andhra Pradesh is the first state in the country to enact the landmark legislation, the Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Sub Plan And Tribal Sub Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilization of Financial Resources) Act, 2013, "to ensure the accelerated development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to bridge the socio-economic gap with emphasis on promoting equity". (INN)