PUNE: The ministry of Home Affairs has invited suggestions for proposed amendments in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, 1984. The proposed amendments seek to deter the prospective violators from vandalizing and destroying public/private property during agitations and other forms of protests. The proposed amendments will also deter the office-bearers of these organizations.

The Supreme Court had set up a committee under the chairmanship of Justice KT Thomas, former Judge of the Supreme Court, to examine modalities to be adopted to make the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (PDPP Act, 1984) more effective and also suggest suitable changes, which could make the Statute more meaningful.

The committee concluded that the present law was inadequate and ineffective to deal with the increasing number of instances of public property damage and made some recommendations for amendment in the Prevention of Damage to Public Properties Act, 1984. MHA had decided to accept the recommendations of the Justice KT Thomas Committee.

The present provision of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and the proposed draft Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act are also available on the ministry of Home Affairs website www.mha.nic.in.

The suggestions/comments on the proposed draft PDPP Act (Amendment) Bill, 2015 from the Public and other stakeholders are solicited on or before 20th July 2015 and the same may be sent to the ministry of Home Affairs, CS Division, 5th Floor, NDCC Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. The suggestion could also be sent on e-mail: dircs1-mha@mha.gov.in.