30 ... ... ... ... .. S I T UAT I O N I N G U JA R AT 3.8 Throughout the period under review, the Commission continued to receive detailed reports from its Special Rapporteur in Gujarat, who monitored with great dedication the degree of compliance - or rather of non-compliance - of the Commission's recommendations by the Government of Gujarat, relating the realities on the ground to the relevant Proceedings of the Commission and the responses and reports of the State Government. In the course of performing his duties, Shri Nampoothiri extensively toured the districts of Kheda, Anand, Panchmahals, Vadodara and Sabarkantha, visiting some two dozen villages, in addition to several areas of Ahmedabad which had been severely affected by the violence that had occurred. In the process, he visited 22 relief camps which were providing temporary accommodation to those affected by the riots (these camps were officially closed on 30 June 2002, though a number of displaced persons are yet to be provided with permanent or adequate solutions to their problems). Shri Nampoothiri also held discussions as and when needed with representatives of non-governmental organizations providing succour and relief to the affected persons and intervened, on numerous occasions, with the competent public servants whose duty it was to maintain law and order, investigate and prosecute those responsible for the carnage and the violation of human rights and who, additionally, were responsible for the over-all conditions in the camps and the provision of appropriate compensation to the victims of the violence or to their next-of-kin. 3.9 As various aspects of the situation continued to disturb the Commission greatly, its then Chairperson, Justice Shri J.S. Verma, shortly before he relinquished office, considered it his duty to address a letter to the Prime Minister of India on 3 January 2003, setting out these concerns. The full text of that letter may be seen at Annexure 1. 3.10 In that letter, Justice Verma, after referring to the recommendations contained in the Commission's Proceedings of 1 April and 31 May 2002, went on to observe: "……. with great respect, that if our country should fall short in rendering justice, promptly and effectively, to the victims, their families, dependants and other persons or groups connected with the victims, a serious travesty of the law will occur with potentially grave consequences, not only to those immediately affected, but to the reputation of our country and its institutions of governance, including the judiciary and the National Human Rights Commission." N AT I O N A L H U M A N R I G H T S C O M M I S S I O N