More than 50% PwD have no Disability Certificates

Three of 5 disabled have no proof of their condition
Aditi Tandon/TNS

New Delhi, June 17
Three in every five differently-abled persons in India have no proof of their disability. Seventeen years after the government enacted the Persons with Disabilities Act in 1995 to make life easier for such persons, evidence from across the country shows that only 39.13 pc of them have been issued disability certificates.

Only 12 states, led by Andhra Pradesh, have reported more than 50 per cent coverage of their differently-abled population. Union Territory of Daman and Diu has issued disability certificates to just 1.13 pc of the total differently-abled persons living there, as per 2001 census.

New Delhi is among the poorest performers and has so far given certificates to only 10.19 pc of its physically challenged population. The 2001 Census puts the count of differently-abled persons living in Delhi at 2.36 lakh. Out of them, only about 2,400 persons have got disability certificates until March 31, 2012.

Coverage reported by Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand is also lower than the national average. These states have issued disability certificates to 38.88 pc and 22.23 pc of their respective differently-abled populations.

Overall, out of 216.3 lakh differently-abled persons in India (2001 Census), the government has managed to give official proof of disability only to 84.62 lakh persons till March this year. Around 131.67 lakh differently-abled persons are still awaiting their certificates, reveals the latest data collated by the Office of Chief Commissioner of Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

These are shockingly low numbers. Simply put, 60.87 per cent of the differently-abled persons in India can't access the rights guaranteed to them under the law — be it transport concessions, job reservations or quotas in educational institutions. This also explains why year after year, the posts reserved for the differently-abled persons in government offices and seats set aside for them in educational institutes go vacant.

"A disability certificate is the very foundation of the life of a differently-abled person. It is to me what a UID is to you. It is my virtual gateway to the world, to life itself. But the procedure to get this document is so complex in India that most differently-abled persons, mainly the poor, never manage to get it," says Javed Abidi, President, Disability Rights Group, (DRG) an umbrella organisation of NGOs working for in the disability sector.

Under the law, the disability certificate is issued by a medical authority notified by the state government. Each such medical authority is constituted at the district level and is supposed to receive applications from the disabled, assess their disability and issue them a certificate within a week from the receipt of application, if the disability is assessed at 40 per cent. Only a government doctor is authorised to issue a disability certificate for which an applicant is required to come to the district government hospital and represent his case before the medical authority constituted for the purpose.

But the problem is this: Government documents reveal that so far only 16 states in India have notified these medical authorities. These are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Lakshadweep, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and UP.

The DRG had petitioned the Health Ministry and the PMO earlier saying the delivery of disability certificate should be decentralised down to primary health centre-level so that a poor villager can get his disability assessed without having to take the trouble of coming all the way to the district.

"We ask a simple question. If a passport can be delivered to an applicant at home, what is the problem in delivering a disability certificate at home? A disabled has a greater right over the document because his movement is impaired. We have asked for a simple online application to be designed to allow the disabled to declare their disability. Let the government verify the authenticity of the claim and home deliver the certificates," Abidi says.

11th Meeting of Disability Commissioners: 2012

11th National Meeting of the State Commissioners, Disabilities to Review Implementation of the Persons with Disablities Act, 1995 held

Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri.Mukul Wasnik has urged States to appoint fulltime Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities and provide adequate staff and create necessary infrastructure for welfare and development of the disabled persons.

Addressing the 11th National Meeting of State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities here today, Shri Wasnik said that the status of implementation of the existing Persons with Disabilities Act across the country is skewed and uneven. This is attributable to a variety of reasons including absence of full time Commissioners disabilities with independent charge at a state level. He said that his Ministry would extend all possible support in creating barrier free environment in States and UTs.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Ministry is working on a new legislation for the empowerment of persons with disabilities in line with the UN Convention. He said that a Committee has been already constituted comprising of stakeholders, experts, some State Governments and Union Ministries, etc. to draft a new legislation to replace the present Act. The Committee submitted its Report; including a draft Bill called The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. We are examining the Bill in consultation with 17 concerned Central Ministries and Departments. The Bill has also been discussed in a meeting of the Central Coordination Committee, a statutory forum set up under the existing Persons with Disabilities Act, on 12th November last.

Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri D. Napolean said that State Commissioners for Disabilities should play proactive role in ensuring that all children with disabilities are covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. During the meeting he suggested to establish Disability University, special recruitment wing for differently abled persons, disability rehabilitation department, fully equipped early intervention center in every district and time slot on all national media for broadcasting programmes related to disability.

Earlier making a presentation Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Shri P.K Pincha said that all States have constituted the State Coordination Committees and State Executive Committees under the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 which provides for education, employment, creation of barrier-free environment, social security etc. However, regular meetings of these committees are not held. 14 States such as Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have appointed full time Commissioners. A total 35 States have constituted Medical Boards in each district to facilitate issue of disability certificates. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has identified more than 2366 jobs(Group A-785,Group B-254,Group C-1112 and Group D-251) including IAS and other Central Services for the disabled. 24 States /UTs have amended building by laws or issued instruction for creating a barrier free environment.

Secretary to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri K.M Acharya was also present during the meeting. State Commissioners for Disabilities from 26 States and UTs are participating in the 2-day meeting to review the implementation of PWD Act. Representatives from Central apex organisations including Rehabilitation Council of India, National Trust, National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation and National Institutes for different disabilities are participating in the meeting organised by the Chief Commissioners of Disabilities.

Chennai District Collector inaugurates free transport from bus stop to collectorate

Battery-operated car for differently abled, elderly

M.K. ANANTH

  

The car was a long-pending demand.–Photo: M.K. Ananth

A battery car to transport free of cost differently abled and elderly petitioners from the bus stop to the district collectorate was inaugurated by District Collector J. Kumaragurubaran on Monday. Mr. Kumaragurubaran told The Hindu  that it was bought under the District Innovation Fund (DIF) under the 13th Finance Commission.

The Collector said on an average close to 500 petitions were submitted at the collectorate during the weekly grievances meet on Monday. Of these, about 200 to 250 of them (40 per cent to 50 per cent) were submitted by differently abled and very old persons. “A car for the petitioners was a long pending demand of various associations for the differently abled,” he said.

Mr. Kumaragurubaran said a proposal to buy the car, worth Rs. 4 lakh, was sent to the State Government about three months ago. According to him the DIF gets 90 per cent (Rs. 3.6 lakh) of the cost from the State Government while 10 per cent (Rs. 40,000) is contributed by the public.

“The car is the first project sanctioned for Namakkal under DIF – of the total Rs.1 crore earmarked for this district,” the Collector said. The decision to buy a battery car was taken as it has lesser ground clearance – less than half a foot – that is much less than the clearance of many petrol and diesel vehicles in this price range.

“Initially, the vehicle will function from 9 a.m. till the end of the meeting on all Mondays,” he said and added that the free service would also be made available on other days based on demand. Differently abled persons said the vehicle had brought down the time taken for them to reach the petition counter by 10 minutes.

“The weekly grievance meeting is now conducted in the conference hall on the first floor of the collectorate. A meeting hall will soon be constructed at Rs. 17 lakh on the ground floor.

First Blind Judge in Korea shows how blind persons can function as Judge successfully

Dear Colleagues,

A very good news coming in from Korea. We have a Blind Judge Mr. Choi Young, who held the court first time with his screen reading software on the lap top. And the attendees in the court were spell bound! 

I have been working hard to see our blind brethren in the judiciary in Delhi. However, despite five posts specially reserved for the Blind in the judicial examinations held in past few years, we have seen no success.  I am requesting the Delhi High Court to organize special coaching to blind law graduates and practicing blind lawyers this year so that we can put up an example to the country. Its not that we have no blind judges in the country, but we have none in Delhi so far.

Please refer to my earlier posts "Can a blind person work as a judge?" and subsequently  "Want to become a judge?" and "A step further to ensure that Blind can function effectively in Courts" on this subject. 

Here is the wonderful news from Korea. 

SEOUL: Judge Choi Young focused on the sounds from his laptop computer at the court as he strives to grasp the case he undertook.

A text-to-speech software in the computer helped blind judge with the trial. While attendees were nervous and astonished to see how dexterously he dealt with the case, he remained calm and confident.

Korean blind judge, Choi Young, adjusts an earpiece 

as he presides over his first public ruling for a civil 

case at the Seoul Northern District Court 

in Dobong District 

(Photo credit: Korea Joongang Daily)

Choi, the Korea’s first blind judge, had his first open trial on Friday. 

Choi is one of the 86 new judges appointed in February and works as an associate judge at the Seoul Northern District Court.

The 32-year-old judge had five trials on Friday. He entered the court room at 10:00 a.m., supported by his fellow judge. He found his seat with the help of other staff. Unlike other judges, there was a laptop computer at his seat.

The court said it had installed a text-to-speech software and provided the necessary equipment, including the laptop, to assist  judge.   “He translates all the documents into audio files and put it in a USB flash drive before trials,” an official from the court said.

During the open trial on Friday, Choi seemed calm and looked no different from other judges besides he had an in-ear earphone. He also typed something on his laptop from time to time.

Observers were impressed how he could look for all the necessary files and document during the trial.

“Choi can memorize all the documents by listening to the audio files just one or two times,” a spokesman of the Seoul Northern District Court said.

Choi noted Friday that he hopes he can bring a new change in Korean society. “There was a big change after the country appointed its first woman judge. I hope I can make the same effect as the country’s first blind judge,” he said.

The 32-year-old was not born vision disability, but started to lose his vision from 1998 due to illness. He lost his vision completely in 2005 while at Seoul National University. He needed extra effort to prepare for the judicial examination due to his disability.

Despite his five consecutive failures, Choi did not give up and passed the judicial examination in 2008.

He completed a two-year program at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in earlier this year to become the country’s first ever blind judge.

Source: Asia online 

Boy with epilepsy shuttled between two welfare homes in four months

Dear Colleagues,

All of 12 years, and found abandoned at New Delhi railway station, his medical report shows he was diagnosed with epilepsy. In four months, he has been made to scuttle between two childrens’ homes, spanning the jurisdiction areas of three Child Welfare Committees (CWC), only to be returned to the first — as authorities at the two other institutions called him a “disturbance” to other inmates.

The CWC (Mayur Vihar), on December 29, 2012, had sent him to Don Bosco home in Okhla as authorities found the children’s home in their area “not equipped to handle his medical needs”.

In March, authorities at Don Bosco home, under CWC (Lajpat Nagar), said that “being a short-stay institution housing 20 children, we are not able to adequately manage the child and it becomes a disturbance for the other children.”

The boy also sustained a head injury after he accidentally fell down during an episode of fits while he was there. The authorities of the home suggested that the child be sent to another one — Antodaya Niketan in Kashmere Gate, “for its proximity to St Stephen’s Hospital and their better resources, which will help them manage the child properly.”

So, on March 25, CWC (Lajpat Nagar), ordered he be moved to Antodaya Niketan.

But within three days of being transferred here, in an official letter dated March 28, Antodaya Niketan authorities said, “The child is continuously afflicted with epilepsy and needs special attention. Moreover, it is a disturbance to other children at our home.”

They requested CWC to “transfer the child to other homes specialised in handling such cases.”

CWC (Kingsway Camp) directed the child be transferred back to Don Bosco last week.

According to Father George Nadackal, director of the Don Bosco Home, “This child needs a lot of special attention. We have to devote an attendant permanently for him. Also, his medical expenses amount to a lot — MRIs, CT scans, etc. We do not have the resources to take care of his needs. Now that he is back with us, we will try to find a solution.”

Tej Wilson, social worker at Antodaya Niketan, said, “We could only keep this child for a few days, because he had a lot of special needs and other children were getting disturbed. Since he was being well taken care of in Don Bosco, we requested our CWC to transfer him.”

With no designated home for long-term care of children diagnosed with neurological disorders, CWCs say they are in a constant dilemma over finding a place of care for such children. “Authorities at most homes say they do not have the facilities to take care of these children,” Raaj Mangal Prasad, chairperson, CWC (Lajpat Nagar) told Newsline.

However, department of Women and Child Development (WCD) officials dismissed these arguments as “excuses to turn away children”. “All normal homes are supposed to take care of the special needs of children. Isolating those with neurological disorders is not correct,” WCD Director, Rajiv Kale said.

The unwritten rule in Delhi institutions, is to direct children to Nirmal Chhaya home where an NGO, Manas Foundation, provides mental health counselling service. “We have over 120 psychiatry patients — 10 of them diagnosed with epilepsy. Since we provide a facility, all CWCs have started referring such children to us,” said Monika Kumar, Managing Trustee of Manas Foundation.

Nirmal Chaya chairperson Neera Mullick said, “We take care of all children diagnosed with epilepsy. It may be traumatic for other children to see them in a state of fits, but isolation is not the solution.”

The boy will be produced before the CWC ( Lajpat Nagar) on Monday where a final decision on his stay will be taken.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/boy-with-epilepsy-shuttled-between-two-welfare-homes-in-four-months/943272/0