Only disappointment remained for those in the disability sector in the
country whose hopes of a good budget were raised since the recent
creation of a new Department for Disability Affairs.
“It has addressed neither the demands from the disability sector nor the
promises made by the government through its 12th Five Year Plan
document,” says Javed Abidi, crusader for disability rights, and
convener, National Disability Network (NDA). The network promotes and
protects all rights of all persons with disabilities.
“From the creation of the new department and the promises made in the
12th Plan document, we had very high hopes this year. And we hear only
two mentions for the disabled sector. And not in the elaborate way that
other marginalised sections of society [children, for instance] have
been dealt with,” he explains.
“We were hoping the Finance Minister would be more generous with the
allocations for the disability sector. All representations made by the
community have been ignored.”
Lot of promises
“Forget representations, the 12th Plan itself makes a lot of promises
for the disabled on various counts — education, habilitation and
rehabilitation, health, barrier-free environments. However, this is not
reflected in the financial outlay of the respective Ministries. Mere lip
service is insufficient. We need to translate it to actual numbers,”
Mr. Abidi adds.
One of the two “disability” mentions in Mr. Chidambaram’s speech was in
the sector of life insurance. He announced a relaxation in the
eligibility conditions for life insurance policies for persons suffering
from disability or certain ailments by increasing the permissible
premium rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the sum assured for
policies issued after April 1.
“This implies that persons with disabilities will be eligible for tax
exemption even if her/his premium is 15 per cent of the policy value.
However, the number of individuals with disabilities who are covered by
life insurance are very few,” explains Meenakshi B, of the Disability
Rights Alliance.
Condition, not a disease
“Higher premiums and the attitude of insurers are dampeners,” says C.
Govindakrishnan of Netrodaya. “Our plaint is that disability is a
condition, not a disease. Therefore, it is essential that we are not
treated as ‘high-risk’ cases and levied high premiums. We would have
been grateful had the Finance Minister ensured that the disabled are
charged the same premiums, instead of tacitly endorsing the high
premium.”
An initial budget analysis by the NDA reveals that while the
announcement indicated an enhanced financial outlay of Rs. 110 crore for
the ADIP Scheme (assistance to buy aids and appliances), the demand for
grant document revealed only an outlay of Rs. 96 crore.
Also, analyses have revealed that there has not been much increase
except under the category, “other programmes for the welfare of the
physically handicapped” (Rs. 31 crore) This could be assumed to be the
allocation for all proposed new schemes towards implementation of the
12th Plan commitments.
The outlay for the Inclusive Education for the Disabled at the secondary
stage has been reduced from Rs. 63 crore in 2012-13 (BE) to Rs. 45
crore for 2013 -14 (BE), NDA sources say.
The allocation for the National Mental Health Programme has been
increased from Rs. 117 crore in 2012-13 to Rs. 133.28 crore this year.
The majority of funds will go towards funding existing institutions and
does not cater to the transition from institutional living to community
living.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has allocated Rs. 7 crore for promotion of sports among persons with disabilities.
Mr. Chidambaram might have pleased some with his budget of 2013, but he
has certainly disappointed India’s 70-100 million people with
disabilities.
Source : The Hindu , Chennai ( 1st March 2013 )
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