Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the Conference of State Home Ministers on effective implementation of Scheduled Castes (SCs)/ Scheduled Tribes (STs) Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act, 1989 in New Delhi on Tuesday. The conference hosted by the Ministry of Home Affairs will also be attended by the Union Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Mukul Wasnik and Labour Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

An official release said the conference would deliberate on the status of necessary institutional framework for the protection of the rights of SCs/STs, registration and investigation of offences under PoA Act, delineation of atrocity prone areas and preventive action in regard thereto, and pendency and conviction rate of cases under PoA Act. The release said,issues of awareness, sensitization and training will also be discussed so as to make the Act more effective.