Par panel urges disability dept to speed up completion of UDID project

A Parliamentary Committee has urged the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to speed up the completion of Unique Disability Identification project in a definite time-frame, stating that the current pace at which the work is going on would take more than a decade and defeat its very purpose.

The Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment was informed that the department has implemented the UDID project in 25 states or Union Territories and generated 9.66 lakh UDID cards to eligible persons with disabilities (PwDs).

"However, keeping in view the fact that India has 2.68 crore PwDs, the number of 9.66 lakh UDID cards is a minuscule," it said.

The Committee also asked the disability department under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to mount pressure on erring states or UTs to appoint independent state commissioner and notify the rules mandatory under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act so that an effective grievance redressal system for PwDs could actually be established.

The Committee also reiterated its earlier recommendation that the entire cost of motorised tricycle must be borne by the department.

Though 100 per cent funding of the cost of motorised tricycle will require major policy changes, besides financial implications, the committee still feels that the department needs to go for it as a large number of beneficiaries come from poor and deprived sections of the society and are not in a position to meet the cost difference of Rs 12,000, almost one-third of the total cost of motorised tricycle.

"In the committee's view, inability of beneficiaries to arrange the one-third cost of motorised tricycle either from its own resources or from MP/MLA funds not only deprives them from getting the tricycle under the ADIP Scheme but also negates the benefit which are provided by the government in the form of two-third portion of the cost of tricycle.

"The committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation that the entire cost of motorised tricycle must be borne by the department," the committee stated.

The panel also expressed concern over holding of the ADIP-SSA camps in Jharkhand being stuck due to non-payment of outstanding dues of Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation Of India (ALIMCO) by the state government as that ultimately have been depriving the benefits of the scheme to the needy disabled school children.

It asked the ALIMCO/department to urgently resolve the issue of outstanding dues and find a permanent solution to obviate recurrence of such instance.

The committee also suggested the ALIMCO to device a system wherein the number of contractual employees at a given point of time does not exceed the number of permanent staff strength.

The committee feels that to obviate the need of hiring large number of employees on contract ALIMCO must follow healthy administrative practices and keep both succession as well as recruitment plans updated.

It recommended that to fill the vacancies timely, the recruitment process should be initiated well in advance by the ALIMCO not only against those vacancies arising out of superannuation but also for those arising out of resignation, VRS and death.