The Centre has released a total of ₹747.17 crore to Uttar Pradesh between 2019-20 and 2025-26, funding implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Over that same window, 1.43 lakh atrocity victims have received relief through this support.
This assistance flows through a Centrally Sponsored Scheme meant to strengthen enforcement machinery under two laws: the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Central funds are released to States and Union Territories, Uttar Pradesh among them, both to help enforce these laws effectively and to get relief to victims of atrocities.
The numbers, revealed in Parliament
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale put these figures on record in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, responding to a question from Prof Manoj Kumar Jha. He confirmed the ₹747.17 crore total released to Uttar Pradesh over the seven-year period, along with the 1,43,543 victims who received relief under the scheme during that time.
Year-by-year breakdown of funding and relief
The reply laid out the figures year by year: ₹141.36 crore went out in 2019-20, benefiting 23,866 victims; ₹113.03 crore followed in 2020-21 for 23,592 victims; ₹126.72 crore in 2021-22 reached 20,278 victims; ₹91.54 crore in 2022-23 helped 23,828 victims; ₹97.95 crore in 2023-24 covered 19,240 victims; ₹89.49 crore in 2024-25 benefited 20,074 victims; and in 2025-26, ₹87.08 crore has so far provided relief to 12,665 victims.
Rising case numbers amongst SC/ST
Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, the House was told that cases registered against Scheduled Castes under the Act in Uttar Pradesh rose from 11,829 in 2019 to 14,642 in 2024. Despite this increase in cases, Uttar Pradesh’s conviction rate stayed consistently above the national average throughout the period, coming in at 66.1%, 70.3%, 76.3%, 80.2%, 70.0% and 73.3% across 2019 to 2024 respectively. For comparison, the national averages over those same years sat at 32.1%, 42.5%, 36.0%, 34.1%, 32.4% and 33.9%.
On cases registered against Scheduled Tribes specifically, the numbers were much smaller: 36 cases in 2019, dropping sharply to 3 in 2020, then 4 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 6 in 2023, and 8 in 2024. Conviction rates here told a different story though, hitting 100 percent in both 2019 and 2020, but then dropping to zero convictions across the entire 2021 to 2024 stretch.
Who’s responsible for compensation
On the question of actual compensation, the Ministry clarified that while it releases Central Assistance to States and UTs, it’s the respective State Governments who handle implementing the scheme and actually disbursing relief to victims. The Ministry also noted that it doesn’t centrally track how much of the released Central Assistance has actually been paid out to victims as compensation.
Key Takeaway: The Central Government’s continued financial support for implementing the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 reflects its focus on strengthening institutional mechanisms for protecting the rights of SCs and STs while ensuring timely relief for victims of atrocities.
With ₹747.17 crore released to Uttar Pradesh since 2019-20, assistance extended to over 1.43 lakh victims, and sustained efforts to improve enforcement through State Governments, the initiative underscores the importance of legal safeguards, social justice, and effective implementation of constitutional protections for vulnerable communities across the country.
M.C.Q.
Question 1: The Centrally Sponsored Scheme discussed in the article is intended to strengthen enforcement of which of the following legislations?
- A. Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
- B. Forest Rights Act, 2006 and Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996
- C. Scheduled Castes Order, 1950 and Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
- D. National Commission for Scheduled Castes Act, 2003
Question 2: Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for implementation of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, who is responsible for disbursing relief/compensation to victims?
- A. Ministry of Home Affairs
- B. National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- C. State Governments and Union Territory Administrations
- D. National Human Rights Commission
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