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Centre
reviews facilities for physically challenged
By Snigdha Sen,
Times
News Network
New
Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office recently reviewed
the progress made on demands of the Disabled Rights
Group (DRG) for improving infrastructural and social
conditions to help integrate the physically and mentally
challenged with the mainstream.
This
follows the PMO's assurance to the DRG, which held a
demonstration on August 14-15, that the progress on
their demands would be reviewed.
The
review meeting was attended by minister of state with
the PMO Vijay Goel, Union minister for social justice
and empowerment Satyanarayan Jatiya and DRG convener
Javed Abidi.
“The
ministers agreed to all demands in principle. The cabinet
committee on accommodation has already agreed to shift
the office of the chief commissioner for persons with
disabilities from Noida back to central Delhi,” Abidi
said.
To
discuss the financial implications of some of the demands,
Goel, Jatiya and the DRG are scheduled to meet Union
finance minister Jaswant Singh in a week's time.
Among
their demands are:
-
Raising the limit of income tax exemption for disabled
people and their parents from Rs 40,000 to Rs l lakh.
- Exempting
aids and appliances for disabled people from import
duties and taxes. “The duty on a wheelchair, for instance,
is as high as 30 per cent,” Abidi pointed out.
- Announcing
incentives to the private sector to provide jobs for
the disabled.
- Giving
1 per cent reservation for people with mental or development
disabilities in C and D category jobs.
Abidi
said about 70 million differently abled people in the
country were unable to perform to their potential because
of disabled-unfriendly circumstances and failure to
implement the Disability Act even six years after it
was passed.
He
said even after five decades of independence, the physically
and mentally challenged remained fettered.
In
February this year, the DRG had drafted a charter of
demands seeking financial, in- frastructural and social
changes -as stated in the Disability Act -to help differently-abled
people join the mainstream. In May, the group was given
an audience with Goel. “Of the 12 demands, he said three-four
could be implemented immediately” said Abidi.
But
the progress was tardy. “There's too much of red-tapism
and a fair amount of resistance to accommodate the changes.
However, the government seems to have realised the need
for setting up a full-fledged disability commission.
We have commissions for the minorities, women and backward
classes.
Why
not for the disabled,” Abidi said.
He
said the attitude towards the disabled sector was skewed.
“Why is disability dismissed under the social welfare
department? The differently-abled need policies under
each department. Just as education is taken care of
by the human resources development ministry and taxes
by the finance ministry, policies for the disabled sector
should also be formulated by these ministries ,” he
said.
Source:
Times of India
Dated :23rd August 2002
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