Delhi revenue department gears up to curb acid sale

New Delhi, Nov 29 In a bid to curb the open sale of acid in the national capital, the officials from the revenue department have decided that the Divisional Commissioner will hold monthly meetings in the second week of every month with all SDMs, representatives from Delhi Commission for Women and Delhi Police to monitor the illegal sale of acid.

The Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal had issued summons to the Revenue Department, Delhi Government regarding their failure in curbing the open sale of acid in the capital. The Commission had pointed out that most SDMs were violating the orders of the Supreme Court and were not carrying out inspections and imposing penalty against those who are indulging in open sale of acid.

In response to the DCW summons, senior officials from the Revenue Department appeared before the Commission and renewed their commitment towards curbing open sale of acid in the capital. The commission has been informed that all SDMs shall from now onwards submit monthly data along with photographs of raids to the Divisional Commissioner by the first week of next month. They have also been directed to conduct raids at localities, markets and residential colonies, etc.

Further, all SDMs have been directed to hold monthly meetings at the level of district along with police officers, Mahila Panchayat (DCW) and other NGOs on the issue and also to seek inputs from RWAs and NGOs so that strong action is taken against the wrongdoers. Also a scheme for the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors and utilization of penalty collected shall be made by the Revenue Department in consultation with stakeholders so that the fund collected as penalties is properly utilized for the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors.

"It is very unfortunate that acid continues to be sold freely and excessively in the capital. At present, there is no monitoring for the same. As a result, acid attacks continue to happen in the capital. This must be stopped urgently. The Commission has fixed the accountability of the Revenue Department in this regard, which shall now be holding regular meetings with all SDMs, Delhi Police and external experts to monitor the illegal sale of acid in the capital", said DCW chief Swati Maliwal.

According to a report, no inspections have been conducted by the SDMs of Shahdara and North District since 2017. Further, several SDMs like those of East, North, New Delhi, North East and Shahdara District have not imposed even a single penalty on unregulated acid sale in their districts since 2017. Also, the penalty amount to the tune of Rs 36.5 lakh collected since 2017 by the Revenue Department was not being used for the rehabilitation of acid attack survivors as was mandated.