People with disability in the state are deprived of the benefits
given through the National Disability Finance Development Corporation
due to lack of initiative on the part of government agencies. This came
to the fore at an awareness programme for promotion of livelihood
opportunities for persons with disabilities held here on Wednesday. The
programme was organized by Leonard Cheshire Disability Trust.
Speaking on the occasion, national placement coordinator Shijo Joseph
said NDFDC was an effective platform to help persons with disability
lead a self-reliant life. But many states including Uttar Pradesh were
not able to exploit the opportunity well. He stressed the need to make
them employable and confident to face the world and get over the feeling
of dependence on family members.
NDFDC provides a loan of up to Rs 5 lakh to people with disability
through government agencies and banks to start an occupation. In Uttar
Pradesh, instead of disabled welfare department, which is officially
responsible for all affairs related to the disabled, UP Finance
Corporation is the lead agency. Yet, few are aware of the agency as
different stake holders shirk from their bit of responsibility. While
the disabled welfare department puts the blame on UP Finance
Corporation, the corporation passes the buck on banks.
As a
result of confusion, the grant that comes to help people with disability
has lapsed. In the 2012-13 financial year for instance, Rs 2,260.58
lakh was disbursed of which Rs 2,219.31 could be spent. Smaller states
are doing much better. Tamil Nadu, which is half the size of UP, drew
double the money. Also, with lesser grant, some states are able to do
much better than UP. Andhra Pradesh is a case in point. With a
sanctioned amount of Rs 1,423.27 lakh, Andhra Pradesh has more than
4,600 beneficiaries.
Amitabh Mehrotra, founder and chairperson of
SPARC-India, who has been working to provide livelihood to persons with
disability shared how employment can empower them.
Source : TOI , 21st Nov 2013
No comments:
Post a Comment