Post for head of women’s body to be filled

With the state government likely to appoint Paramjit Kaur Landran as the chairperson of Punjab State Commission for Women, the vacancy is set to be filled for the first time since December 30, 2011, when previous chairperson Gurdev Kaur Sangha demitted office.

While the commission had five other members, but after Sangha's exit, it stopped functioning with the tenure of the other members also ending around that time.

An advocate by profession, Landran is a SAD women wing leader and also a member of the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee. Another woman activist, Subha Rana, is also likely to be appointed as a member of the commission.

A few months ago, Nawanshahr-based NGO Help had filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, stating that the commission had been non-functioning since May 2012 — after the completion of terms of the chairman and four non-official members. In September, the court had directed the state government to file a reply in this regard.

The Commission was set up in 1998 under a central Act to ensure timely justice for women. While it received 151 complaints at the outset, the number has now gone up to 1,325. The commission has solved 1,183 complaints out of the 1,325, but 975 more complaints were received by July end last year.

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