Leading International Disability Organisation portrays India without J&K!

Dear Friends,
I am shocked to see the attitude of a leading UK based deveopmental organisation called ADD having its branch office in India. I happened to visit its website and I couldn't believe what I saw. It shows an Indian Map minus its head i.e. J&K.

Is this justified by any means ? Should an organisation of such a stature stoop so low? Doesn't this hit us so harshly at our hearts? Can an Indian tolerate this?

May be whole sector need to react. Its on us. What do we want - our integrity and sovereignity or charity cum developmental work at its cost from an offshore organisation. I can not believe that is by mistake. It is purposeful and needs to be rejected and refused. We do not want such organisations to function in India if they do not agree to the stand taken by we the people of Republic of India and its elected Government.

Need your support! I wrote the following mail to its new Director Mr. Sebastian.

To
Dr. Sebastian
Director- ADD
4005, 19th Cross,
Banashankari II Stage Extn,
Bangalore 560 070, India

Dear Mr. Sebastian,

This refers to our telephonic discussion a while ago on the subject.

As I said I am deeply pained that an international developmental organisation of this stature especially working in India has such flaws on its website http://www.add.org.uk/India.asp which no Indian would tolerate.

I strongly object to portrayal of Indian Map in its present form i.e. without J&K. This relates to the integrity and sovereignity of the nation.

I appreciate that you have joined recently and would take time to understand the official work related to the important post that you fill but this matter must be immediately dealt with before it blows up in ugly proportion!

My good wishes to you on joining this august organisation as its Director and hope we have a continuous dialogue on many common areas in disability sector.

Warm regards
Subhash Chandra Vashishth
Advocate-Disability Rights,
New Delhi, India
Mobile: +91 (11)

Finally Railways plan to address access issues at select 1500 railway stations!

Indian Railways have been sitting over the access improvement plans over 10 years now. Several Writ petitions followed, but nothing more than assurances and promises came out. The Indian Railways have now decided to address access issues at some odd 1500 stations now which is nothing but a miniscule in such a vast country.


My Fears

• And mind you, they say that they are doing it not because it is mandated under a binding Central Law called The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 but because of the continuous requests which are being received from the physically challenged people from all over India. What a cruel joke on the 14 year old Legislative Enactment of Indian Parliament!

• If Railways execute the access solutions at the standards at which they are currently doing at many of the stations, I fear whether we will ever have accessibility at Indian Railway Stations and trains !

• As long as you call alternate access ramps, reserved parking slots, low height water taps and accessible toilets to be special facilities, I doubt it would be sustainable! Answer lies in Universal Design! Why can't the stations be designed to be accessible to all based on universal design rather than special access to some.

• Today, in the name of low height water taps, inaccessible taps have been built. Look at the socalled "accessible toilets" at stations. They remain either locked or are inaccessible. Ramps are slippery, there is no platform to platform connectivity. Wheelchairs are not available easilty at stations. Staff is often missing from "May I help you" counters. There is no awarness in the implementing contractors and engineers. What they consider accessible is actually not accessible.

Perceptions about Accessibility Differ from Actual Accessibility


The simple question- do you involve competent consultants and users to ensure that the end product is fault free? Perceptions of accessibility differ from person to person and this subjectivity kills the design and the usage of end product for the end user in absence of uniform universal design standards being adopted.

regards

Subhash C. Vashishth


To read the news in detail click on links:

India Server.com
Times of India
Travel Biz Monitor

An IAS officer, against all odds- Hindustan Times

Dear Colleagues,

A sensitized senior officer can make all that difference that is needed to accommodate the special needs and provide equitable environment to persons with disabilities to perform in education and employment. In the instant case, due a highly sensitized Director General of Academy of Administration, Mr. Sandeep Khanna who happened to serve in Ministry of Social Justice at one point of time and knew the capabilities of blind made all that difference. The DG ensured that the Academy provided an enabling environment to the trainee IAS office who was a person with visual impairment. Thus braille printer, braille translations of the revenue book circular, land Revenue Code and CC (conduct) Rules were provided to make the academy/ educational institution an inclusive set up.

Here is the story of the success of inclusive set up and of course the grit and determination of Krishna Tiwari!


An IAS Officer, against all odds 

Losing his eyesight at the age of 20 could have demoralised Krishna Tiwari. Instead, he decided to proceed with his life according to plan, becoming India’s first IAS officer with a 75 per cent visual disability. Tiwari, whose retina gradually deteriorated, leaving him legally

blind by 2001, is currently finishing his training programme at Madhya Pradesh’s RCVP Noronha Academy of Administration in Bhopal.
In a welcome change, the government is adapting itself to working with people with disabilities, rather than the other way around.

Director General (Academy of Administration) Sandeep Khanna, who has served with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in the past, made a laptop and screen reader software available to help Tiwari with his training.

The Academy also got a Braille printer and Braille translations of the Revenue Book Circular, the Land Revenue Code and the Civil Services (Conduct) Rules — the Bibles of every revenue officer.

“This is being done as part of a move to have more inclusive education,” said Khanna.

The Academy has also offered the 28-year-old the option of taking the equipment with him when he the training is over, to help him in his work.

It wasn’t always this easy, though.

Tiwari secured the 142nd rank in the Civil Services Examination, 2007, the highest rank ever for a person with a physical disability.

But in August that year, the Department of Personnel & Training told him he was ineligible to join the Indian Administrative Service on three counts: He would be unable to perform his duties as he could not see, he could not read or write and could not walk without help.

Tiwari protested, saying he was adept at handling computers and could walk in a secure area without help.

The matter was referred to the medical board and the objections were waived. In November 2007, Tiwari was finally inducted into the IAS.


Source: Hindustan Times

Can a Blind or Visually Impaired Person work as a Judge / Magistrate ?

Dear Friends,

Blind as a judge? Often I face such questions when I raise the issue that why Visually Impaired lawyers and advocates and fresh law graduates are not being considered for the post of Judges. Is it a systemic apartheid or the apathy of the appointing authorities that they do not find blind to be competent to perform the functions of the Judge and take no measures to ensure that the backlog vacancies are cleared by appropriate methods?

Is there any legal or policy level impediment ?

Mind you, there is no impediment in appointment of a blind as a judge or magistrate or a munsif because firstly the post has been identified by Govt. of India, secondly, there is a reservation to the posts for the Blind too! Then why is it that despite passage of The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full participation)Act 1995, Identification of the post of Judge for the blind in the first identification list by Min. of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India in 2001 and now the second identification list of jobs in early 2007, there has not been a single appointment on the posts of Judges? I am sure the 3% reservation for the Disabled (read 1% for VH) has remained unfilled all these years and it is almost 14 years now since the PWD Act came in to being. Why is it so?

Any role models ?

I don't say that we have had no role models as yet in India though not in recent times. I hope many of you remember Shri Sadhan Gupta, the Additional Advocate General in Kolkata who remained Advocate General for almost 7 years who was blind but that did not deter him perform his so important and sensitive job effectively nor did the Government think that he was not competent! There have been several examples world over- to name a few Dr. Hans Eugene Schulze from Germany who retired from judiciary a while back.  Recently Justice Zakeria Mohammed Zak Yacoob from South Africa became judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa despite his blindness and was recently in India advocating the rights of the Visually Impaired in the society and conducted many workshops organised by Disability Rights Initiative (Human Rights Law Network), India.

The reasons for not seeing Blind as Judges.

On one part I feel it is a failure of system which has made no efforts to sensitize the larger population about the abilities of the Visually Impaired in this era of technology and the power of screen reading softwares that has largely reduced the functional impact of visual disability among the trained blind brethren. I am amazed at the newer technology where use of tongue as an eye is being successfully explored!!

Secondly, the poor quality of education and lack of support in early and higher education is majorly responsible for not seeing many blind candidates passing the LLB exams and then appearing for judiciary tests. Even today, we have no trained teachers in Govt. Schools where visually impaired children are admitted in the name of inclusive education and they are merely passed and promoted to next grades without any effective learning. Schools run by NGOs are doing good work but have limitation of resources. A few run with Govt. Grants have many teaching posts vacant for past several years in Delhi alone. This needs immediate attention.

No access to technology and costly gadgets also increases the impact of disability on the students with blindness. The Government should provide computers and other assistive and enabling technology to the Blind to provide them equal opportunities.

Also, until recently, the Public Service commissions and High Courts did not accept blind as eligible candidates due to lack of awareness. I remember Registrar, Andhra Pradesh and PSC Jharkhand refused to provide any reservation to blind in the judiciary posts when we wrote to them to reserve seats for disabled including blind. I have their letters with me! And now I have learnt that there is an attempt on their part to keep the post of judge away from the blind.

In my view, it is the society (through disabling social infrastructure and rigid social mindsets) that disables the persons with disabilities and doesn't accept the competent candidates with disabilities due to age old biases and pre-conceived notions.

Some news to Cheer about - a New role Model!

However, now such ceilings are being broken and I am delighted at the success of Mr. T T Chakravarthy, a practicing lawyer aged 41 years from Vellore to have broken that ceiling, and setting up himself as a role model for several others who are preparing for the same. Congratulation Mr. Chakravarthy! The story is available at link: Tamil Nadu gets its first blind judical officer. In fact, when the case was pending in the court, very interesting arguments were put forward and a serious debate went on with questions such as what is a handicap? Referring to the half a dozen outstation judges, who were on transfer from other states, the lawyers argued that language was a barrier/handicap to those judges, and that they had to take the help of either a co-judge or the court staff for translation or interpretation! What if the blind judge uses the services of an assistant/scribe! The Bench asked as to how would the blind judge look into the eyes of the accused and assess the demeanour, the argument was that it was an old technique as "looks are deceptive now a days." The bench relented finally and allowed the petitioner to write the examinations.

Also there are favourable trends coming from the Courts of Law. February this year Madras High Court allowed Mr. B. Veerakumar, a blind advocate to write the PSC Examination for the Civil Judge. The detailed story could be read at link: HC to the rescue of blind lawyer.

Thus it would be seen that the change has started coming in the way the society perceives persons with disability. I feel it is all the more important that how people with disability particularly those with visual impairments think about themselves.

Reading between the lines

While it might be easier to say that a judge with visual impairment/blindness should be appointed, it should be kept in mind that posting such person even at his own merit on the posts to perform his duties without appropriate assistive devices and making available the necessary gadgets and technology is not going to help any one. On the contrary,  it would be a discouragement and a blow to the high spirits of the person with visual impairment as they may not be able to prove themselves in such a hostile environment. And then the competence of these candidates would be generalized to say that  blind persons are not effective in discharge of duties expected from a judge/magistrate hence they should not be appointed.  Also, if someone is able to somehow do well without government assistance (read- at his own cost), I fear such roles models might collapse under the high hopes that society has from them. The Media which is covering their success in Bold Letters on front pages today will soon highlight the failures too if such support of assistive devices and gadgets was not provided to enable them. This would be in simple terms " Reasonable Accommodation" which will provide them a "level playing field". Now this is their right in light of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities!

Secondly, acceptance and moral support from the seniors and subordinate staff is also needed to assimilate the new entrants in the system. Hence, efforts to sensitize the workforce, especially the assistants, clerks, stenos, other judicial officers, Orderlies should be taken up on priority within departments.

The Road Ahead

We need to overhaul the system that disables.

• We have a ministry called Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India which itself seem to be overpowered with other issues plaguing it like issues of Minorities and Dalits and there is neither time nor expertise to do justice to the subject called disability despite some sensitivities. This calls for an urgent need to create a separate ministry for handling the issues related to the Disabled persons in India or at least a separate Independent Department.
• The visually impaired candidates should be encouraged to take up law as a subject and supported in preparation for their Exams for entering judiciary the way Govt. provides coaching and other supports to the candidates from SC/ST to prepare for IAS and UPSC examinations. NGOs could be roped in for the purpose and Legal Services Authority could also play an active role.
  
• A regular sensitization and awareness raising of the society at all levels and setting more role models from amongst the disabled should be first priority.
• Followed by an affirmative action to implement the existing laws and policies.
• Education, Skill Development and exposure to the latest technology to improve the functional capabilities should be the prime focus.
• People with disability on their part should stop seeking doles and enhance their core competencies to be an equal member in economy.
• The public infrastructure especially the courts, systems should be made accessible to people with disabilities.

How a Blind judge would perform better

• Provide him Talking software and gadgets with a personal lap top.
• The petitions, applications, written statements, replications/rejoinders, affidavit etc should be field in e-format also along with hard copies.
• All evidential documents/ photocopies, even if legible should be compulsorily submitted in typed in double spacing and e-format. This is already being done in High Courts and Supreme Court as the judges are elderly and have low eye-sights!!
• All documents in regional languages can also be either translated in English or Hindi and placed before the judge in print and E-format - as is done in High Courts already!
• The Legal Library attached to the Courts should have e-text version of all the legal books and reference books which the Judge can refer to.
• Similarly Case laws, digests, AIR etc are now a days available in CDs and can be made available to the judges.
  

What is needed is an open mind and then every thing is possible! I am looking forward to days when such a system is put in place and we see Judges with Visual Impairments and other disabilities performing their functions efficiently without any barrier - attitudinal, social, physical or technological!

Warm regards

Subahsh Chandra Vashishth

Advocate,  Consultant-Disability Rights

09811125521

Building a Destination for All, St. John USVI

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Building a Destination for All, St. John USVI

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Universal Design: The Seven Principles

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Universal Design: The Seven Principles

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Making The Election Process Accessible to all - an out of box rethinking is necessary

Dear Friends,

Here is my article on making the election process in India accessible to all that I wrote today:

Introduction
India has recently voted in an unprecedented election wherein Indian National Congress emerged as the strongest and the single largest party though with not a clear majority. The overall voting percentage that is being put forward is 50%. I am amazed that despite India being the IT giant, with resources in hand why do we still have to follow the means of the bye gone era where voters lined up for several hours to cast their vote!! I learnt that within my close circle so many couldn't vote. Few travelling, few had official trips & one couple was so old that they couldn't venture out of the house at all. I also learnt from my interaction that all those on poll duty are not able to vote – this includes sizable chunk of teachers and government employees and security forces put on election duty. Their right to vote is denied.

Access at Booths for voters with Disability
On the top of it, our friends in the Disability Sector too, without thinking out of box, campaigned & pressurized and advocated the Election Commission of India to make all the voter booths accessible to voters with disabilities based on a Supreme Court Verdict. That included providing EVMs with braille and ramps to access booths.

The feedback is mixed. At many places especially in rural India, no access was provided in terms of Ramps or braille enabled EVMs while at some places where it was provided, the blind voters did not know the braille!!!!

I am not negating the work, lobbying & successes that we as a sector achieved during this. But to bring home the larger question- Are we giving sufficient choices to our electorate - disabled or not?

Is that the only solution?
Will it suffice and make it accessible to all if we just focused on booths and EVMs in the name of equal rights for the voters with reduced mobility (I include elderly, disabled & those with fractured leg or back, sick and those not able to move out due to any pre-occupation or condition in the definition of reduced mobility) ?

The fact remains that 50% of India couldn't vote. I would say “could not” and not “did not” because the election system is still not friendly to people. I can not vote with comfort still, leave aside those experiencing disability, sickness, busy work schedules or simply have other personal priorities.

Some Solutions
I was just looking at how a multinational bank services its customers. There will always be few who prefer to visit bank and do the transactions – may be due to any reason like illiteracy, bank is closer, not very IT friendly etc. While there are others who use ATMs, Internet Banking for all their transactions, few pay their installments by EMIs and give instructions for payment of utility bills few who give bearers cheques!

To me, this throws ample of examples how voting system could have more choices to facilitate the voting system for the diversity of citizenry. While voting at accessible Booths should continue, more options like email, SMS, (on the lines of phone banking and internet banking), postal ballots should be given to citizens to choose from so that no one is denied his right to vote as a citizen.

For those few who are not able to step out of the houses due to old age or severe disabilities or sickness and yet not friendly with the modern means could be offered choices like the vehicle mounted EVMs (taking clue from mobile ATM Machines) and the same could even go to houses (on the lines of door to door Polio campaign). The voting process can be a week long for those opting email & SMSs and one day for those who physically vote on election booths. It is all the more possible when we have the citizen’s data base on Election Commission’s website, Photo ID cards have been issued and any body can check his data on the internet. Only thing we need to do is relate one email per person for those who are internet savvy. These are just few ideas thrown and I am sure many new could be though out.

Way Ahead
Also, firstly each Indian Citizen entitled to vote should be counted and identified - placing faces to the numbers - with proper identity proofs (biometrics, face recognition, eye recognition software could be used for data base. This would necessarily include identifying voters with disabilities to bring them in to the mainstream. Access to all including those experiencing disability should be an inbuilt feature in all such options.

If we have to become a strong democracy, India has to make enabling provisions that every one irrespective of the situations they are in - busy, out for work, out for wedding, sick at home, caring loved ones in the hospitals, posted at borders as a combatant in forces, experiencing reduced mobility or a disabling condition should be able to vote with equal comforts and with ample choices. I am hopeful that if implemented such ideas could generate 90% turn-out during poll process, for we are a vibrant democracy with maximum young people in the world!

Subhash Chandra Vashishth
Advocate-Disability Rights
09811125521, subhashvashishth@gmail.com

A tuition free university - Standardised Education for All

Dear Friends,

I had always dreamt that education should not be open to buying. Its is something that one should learn and earn by hardwork and practice. Since the time Education began to be bought, it became the necessity to earn money too! Young girls and boys today think of education as means to earn money.

I remember some great hindi poet saying, शिक्षे तुम्हारा नाश हो, तुम नौकरी के हित बनी!

To me education should be open to all irrespective of whether the student is rich or poor. Devi Saraswati should be accessible to all irrespective of his/her economic status. In India, Indira Gandhi National Open University has set new standards in bringing education to the door steps. However, there is a good course fee attached to it.

Can't the Government subsidize this and let the students pay once they pick up a job after the course. It might be utopia as of now. However, UN has something like this in mind and an online tuition free Open University, to me is a great step in that direction. It would not only help in standardizing the education but also make its reach easier and cheaper to those who have time and money constraints. This would also reduced the monopoly of some money focussed institutions on higher education too.

Hope this would also amaze you. But there are some hidden charges still which perhaps need to be sorted out gradually. However, I welcome this as a very positive step.

regards
Subhash Chandra Vashishth

Here is the news: To read from source click here


UN launches online, tuition-free university

The world's first online university will use open-source technology and course material, to bring a high level of learning to its students. Published on 5/20/2009 2:07:54 PMBy Shubhendu Parth

New Delhi: The UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development (GAID) has announced the launch of world's first tuition-free online university.

The university would use open-source technology and course material, alongside peer-to-peer teaching to bring a high level of learning to its students, sources at the United Nation (UN) said.

The initiative, rightly called the University of the People (UoPeople), is part of the agency's focus on education for year 2009 and is aimed at offering higher education to the masses.

"This year the Global Alliance has focused its attention on education [and] how ICT can advance education goals around the world," a GAID spokesperson said. "For hundreds of millions of people around the world higher education is no more than a dream," UoPeople Founder Shai Reshef said pointing out that people are constrained by finances, the lack of institutions in their region, or are not able to leave home to study at a university for personal reasons.

He further stressed that the University will enable people to continue their studies from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching.

"The high-quality, low-cost and global pedagogical model embraces the worldwide presence of the Internet and dropping technology costs to bring collegiate level studies to even the poorest and most remote places on earth," the University claimed on its website.

Reshef further said that in order to open access to as many people as possible, no material requiring broadband connections, such as video, would be used, which would enable people restricted to dial-up connections to follow courses.

And while, he hopes that there would be associated projects to supply computers to those without them, Reshef hoped that people without computers and Internet can still be able access, either through a centralised public computer, an Internet cafe or private machines.

According to sources, while a minimum of 12 years of study is mandatory pre requisite for those seeking admission at UoPeople, students would also need to pass an orientation course in English and computer skills in order to continue on to the major, which would require 40 courses, similar to most undergraduate degrees.

Students will be placed in classes of 20, after which they can log on to a weekly lecture, discuss its themes with their peers in a kind of chat room helping each other understand the material and take a test online.
If students still had problems after discussing the material with their peers, they could go to a course forum where they could consult with academics.Reshef also informed that to fund the University, there would be a sliding scale of fees for admissions and exams—depending on the World Bank's wealth-ranking of each student's home country—from US $15 to US $50 for admission.

Besides, students would also need to pay a processing fee for every test ranging from US $10 to US $100. For the University to sustain its operation, it needs 15,000 students and US $6 million, of which Reshef has donated US $1 million of his own money.

The University also plans to mine much of its course material from courses already made available on the Internet, free of charge, by major institutions like Stanford University in the United States. "However, the term open-use has to be defined carefully to avoid problems," he clarified.

Talking about the initiative Bangladesh's Ambassador to the United States Humayun Kabir and a member of the UoPeople advisory committee said, "The University is an innovation that will be remembered for a long time because of the degree to which it would increase access to higher education around the world."

Election Commission clarifies - Grant can't be stopped in the name of Model Code of Conduct

Dear Friends,



This is in response to my earlier post on "Should Rehabilitation Services come to stand still when Model Code of Conduct is in force ?"

I have been informed by Sh. JL Kaul, Secretary General AICB that our communication and the resonance that your efforts created did work very well!


Election Commission of India has directed the Government of India, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to release grant to NGOs before 31st March and work has already been started.


Mr. Kaul has expressed thanks to all organisations who supported the petition/appeal and also wrote to the Commission directly.


Who says, the reason and strong advoacy doesn't work in India?


Congratulations to the sector and thanks to the Election Commission for their quick and timely resonse.



Warm regards,

Subhash Chandra Vashishth
Mobile: +91 (11) 9811125521

Should Rehabilitation Services come to stand still when Model Code of Conduct is in force ?

Dear Friends,

This is election time and the Election Commission of India has enforced the Model Code of Conduct. We have seen in the immediate past that in the name of Model Code of Conduct, a few Govt. Departments literally refuse to undertake even the routine activities that would not otherwise come under the purview of the the Model Code of Conduct more so when any of such activities are not related to promoting or giving benefit to any political party. We had seen similar stance taken by a senior Govt. Official in Tamil Nadu in refusing to restore the extra time facility in the government exams to Visually Impaired students.

We are faced with another typical problem that many of your organisations might be facing. This is regarding Grant in aid being received by many Organisation in Disability Sector for their projects from the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment under the Ministry's regular scheme titled "Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme for the Persons with Disabilities"

This scheme is not a special or discretionary grant and a large number of education & rehabilitation services are run with these grants by NGOs in absence of any Govt. owned set up to run similar programmes. Thus this becomes a regular service to the community which can't and should not get affected due to Model Code of Conduct.

By any prudence, the educational, vocational and rehabilitation services to the persons with disabilities can't come to stand still because there is a model code of conduct in force! Thus this is the right time that the issue is taken up with the appropriate authority i.e. the Chief Election Commission of India and in the States if such issues are being faced by other NGOs also in the other parts of the Country.

AICB, has initiated such an exercise and I would appeal all those who are affected by similar dilemma, to take recourse to similar exercise to restore this right to the persons with disabilities that they work with. Appended below is the appeal letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner by All India Confederation of the Blind which can be taken as reference point by the affected organisations.

Regards,
Subhash Chandra Vashishth



Appeal Letter

Ref:-AICB/G-1/2009 16th March, 2009

The Hon’ble Chief Election Commissioner,
Government of India ,
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road ,
New Delhi-110001.

Sub:- Non-release of Government-grant-in-aid to disability NGO’s—Code of Conduct Regulation—relief solicited.

Sir,

1) We wish to bring to your kind notice that disability NGO’s like ours are faced with a genuine and serious problem of non- receipt of funds which has arisen, albeit in advertently , due to the moral Code of Conduct currently in force.

2) The specific problem is explained below and we write to request you to take into consideration our special situation and grant us necessary relief.
3) Disability NGO’s receive grant-in-aid for their projects from the Union Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment under that Ministry’s regular Scheme titled “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme for the Persons with Disability”. These are not special or discretionary grants, but are offered on a regular basis and cover such crucial items as payment of staff salaries, meeting the cost of board and lodging for disabled children/adults, Braille books, equipments etc. This is an on-going Scheme.

4) Unfortunately, the Ministry releases grants under the Scheme only towards the end of February/March for covering annual expenses, as per specified sealings. We are, now, given to understand that the Ministry cannot even process grant-in-aid Cases, let alone sanction/release grants under the said Scheme even for on-going projects, at this juncture, since the moral Code of Conduct has come into force, subsequent to the announcement of Lok Sabha Elections. This seriously hurts the functioning of NGO’s like ours, since it makes extremely difficult for us to continue our welfare activities for want of funds. Hence, we request you to come to our rescue.

5) We do realize that the Code of Conduct, too, thus prohibit release of funds to preempt the possibility of giving rise to malpractices. At the same time, the interests of disabled children/adults we serve in accordance with the mandate of a welfare State cannot also be compromised/sacrificed.

6) In view of the foregoing, it is our humble submission that the concerned Ministry may be allowed to process related Cases and release grant-in-aid this month itself(before the close of the financial year) on the basis of the following formula:

a) No new projects may be assisted while the Code is on;
b) However, grant-in-aid may be allowed to be released for on-going activities, which have been assisted by the Ministry for preceding three years;
c) The grant to be released may be the same as released during the preceding year i.e. 2007-2008;
d) Any under-payment/over payment may be adjusted in the coming year.

We need hardly add that the Election Commission of India would earn the gratitude of thousands of disabled children/adults by acceding to our above request which would save them from untold hardships, which might otherwise result from possible break-down of services.

Thanking you and hoping to a favorable response.

Yours truly,

(J.L. KAUL)
SECRETARY GENERAL, AICB, Delhi