The Odisha government has asked Minati Behera to resign from the post of Chairperson of the State Commission for Women (SCW) after a performance review. The decision comes after the government issued a show cause notice to Behera, seeking an explanation from him regarding his actions and performance. The Women and Child Development Department on Monday said that after considering Behera’s explanation for the notice, the government concluded that she did not provide a satisfactory account of her time in office. In the notice issued on October 28, Behera was directed to reply by November 1.
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An official department notice informed Behera that her response does not satisfactorily explain the poor functioning of the State Women’s Commission under her leadership. The notification said that as per the provisions of sub-section 3 of Section 4 of the Orissa State Commission for Women Act, 1993, the Chairperson was directed to reply on or before 4:00 pm on November 1, 2024. After detailed analysis, it was found that his reply was weak and did not respond to the issues raised by the government.
As a result, the state government decided to remove Behera from her post by invoking the provisions of Section 4 (3) of the Orissa State Commission for Women Act, 1993 with immediate effect. The action has been confirmed in the notification in the public interest. It said that in view of the above circumstances, the State Government orders the removal of Smt. OSCW Chairperson Minati Behera was appointed in public interest vide Notification No. 16810, dated 12.10.2022.
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Behera was accused of not leaving office even after the state government took action against him. In this case, the point of concern is Behera’s control over the Women and Child Development Department of the government, with some concerns raised over his handling of women’s issues and his reluctance to follow up on concerns raised in a reasonable period of time. The issue has sparked controversy, with some people even debating whether the steps taken were appropriate and whether it was a good idea to remove him at the time. However, it is clear that the state wants, and perhaps very urgently, that an intelligent head be appointed to run the SCW as issues of women’s safety and welfare are increasingly becoming a problem.
