As per power conferred under section 4(1) of West Bengal Minorities' Commission Act 1996, the Commission conducts district study tours in order to (a) evaluate the progress of the development of minorities of West Bengal and review implementation of the policies and Programme of the State Government, (b) monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament or the State Legislature and (c) make recommendations for the effective enforcement and implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of minorities provided by the Central or State Government.
The Study visit team comprises of Hon’ble Chairman and/ or Vice Chairperson and other Hon’ble members of this Commission. Generally, the tour is taken place in two sessions, namely a). Administrative meetings, and b) Sensitization Camps.
In the Administrative meeting, generally held in the 1st Half at the District Head quarter, the members of this Commission meet the entire District Administrative heads and Police Administration. The Commission enquires about the development of minorities and review implementation of different policies and Programme of the State Government in the District, listens to the difficulties faced by the District Administration and advises them accordingly. In the Financial Year 2015-16, the Commission visited 18 districts of West Bengal, namely, Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum, Uttar Dinajpur Malda, Dakshin Dinajpur, Howrah, Darjeeling, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Murshidabad and Hooghly.
During the 2nd half of the study tour, sensitization camp is organized in order to directly interact with the local minority people, listen to their problems, and sensitizes them about their rights. During the financial year 2015-16, West Bengal Minorities Commission conducted 18 Sensitization camps, one each in Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia, Birbhum, Uttar Dinajpur Malda, Dakshin Dinajpur, Howrah, Darjeeling, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur, Murshidabad and Hooghly.
